


Bright Harbor: Home of a Brighter Future

by Legend0fTacoHat



Series: Bright Harbor [1]
Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: Drama & Romance, Fluff and Angst, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-03-06 22:38:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 80,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13421088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legend0fTacoHat/pseuds/Legend0fTacoHat
Summary: Five years after the events in-game, Mae and Bea have saved up enough money to move to Bright Harbor, following in Gregg and Angus' footsteps. Now living with Bea, Mae struggles to hide her feelings for her. Things don't always go how you wanted them to, however, but that doesn't mean that what happens instead can't also be what you truly wanted.





	1. Leaving Home Again

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. I'm back with a brand new nitw story, and this one isn't a crossover. This story takes place five years after the game, and the focus is Mae and Bea, but Gregg and Angus both appear often, and they'll even get their own chapters later on. Also, I'm going into this assuming that both the Bea and Gregg paths could have happened before Gregg and Angus left for Bright Harbor, so I'll be referencing both. The chapters of this story are substantially shorter than my previous fic, but I'm also going to be posting twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays. So, with all of that out of the way, I hope you enjoy this new story.

Today was the day. Today was the day Mae had been waiting for. Today would be the culmination of five years of blood, sweat, and tears. Today, she was moving, and Bea was coming with her. They were moving to Bright Harbor.

Mae threw the last suitcase into the back of Bea’s car. She slammed the door shut with fervor.

“Mae, could you please not do that? This car’s already falling apart. It doesn’t need you slamming the doors shut.”, said Bea, as she carefully shut the back door on her side of the car.

“I’m sorry. I’m just so excited! We’re finally getting out of this dead-end town!”, replied Mae excitedly.

“I am, too, but we can’t exactly carry our stuff all the way to Bright Harbor if my car breaks down.”

“Sure, we can! We’ll be like survivalists! We’ll carry hundreds of pounds of stuff through the wilderness and survive off of the fat of the land.”

Bea chuckled a bit at that, “And what will you do about food? We don’t have anything to cook with.”

“Well, I do have a bat. I’ll just kill something and cook it on a fire.”, replied Mae, as if that should have been obvious.

“Uh huh, good luck trying to chase down a wild animal with a bat and hundreds of pounds of stuff on your back.”

“Do you doubt my hunting skills?”

“Yes. Yes, I do.”, deadpanned Bea.

Mae gasped, “Beatrice, how could you? I thought we were friends. Does our friendship mean nothing to you?”

“No, our friendship means nothing to me. I just hang out with you because being friends with the 25-year-old Taco Buck employee who lives with their parents is just so appealing.”, said Bea sarcastically.

“I know. Who wouldn’t want to be friends with a taco enthusiast such as myself?”

“I can think of a few.”

“Oh, shut up. Can we get going already?”, urged Mae.

“Are you sure we have everything?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Have you said goodbye to everyone, yet?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Then yes, we can get going.”

Mae threw her arms up in the air, “Bright Harbor, yeah!”

“Woohoo.”, added Bea, noticeably less excitedly.

The two got into the car and shut the door. Bea started the engine and was about to leave when Candy and Stan appeared in the rearview mirror. They were running to the car. Mae rolled down her window.

“Dad? Mom? What are you doing here?”, she called.

The two reached Mae’s side of the car. They were panting heavily from running.

“We *pant* wanted to *pant* give you this.”, Stan managed to say as he extended his hand out. There was an envelope in it.

“Um, thanks.”, said Mae.

“Don’t open it until *pant* you get to Bright Harbor.”

“Okay. Is that all?”, asked Mae.

“We also just wanted to be here when you left. I know you already did all of your goodbyes and everything, but we’re your parents. We wanted to be there to see our little kitten finally leave this place for good.”, said Candy, who was also breathing heavily.

“ _Mooom_ , I’m 25. I’m not a little kitten anymore.”, groaned Mae.

“You’ll always be _our_ little kitten, sweetie.”, replied Candy.

Bea simply smiled condescendingly from the driver’s seat.

“Well, goodbye. I’ll visit soon, I promise.”, said Mae.

“That’s what they all say, sweetie. Don’t worry. We’ll be fine, even if you don’t visit.”

“How little faith do you have in me, mom?”

“Ha, I’m sure she’s joking. You’d better at least keep us updated on how your life’s going, okay?”, said Stan.

“Geez, you act like I’m a horrible daughter who wouldn’t even want to see their parents once in a while.”, replied Mae.

“See? It’s already gone from soon to once in a while. Soon, it’ll be never, just watch.”, said Candy.

“Alright, whatever. I’ll come visit you _soon_. Is that better?”, asked Mae.

“Whatever you say, Mae. I’ll let you go now. Have fun in Bright Harbor. Love you.” With that Candy began to leave.

“I love you, too, mom.”, Mae called back.

“Bye, kitten. I love you.” Stan began to follow Candy back home.

“Love you, too, dad.”

When they left, Bea turned to Mae, “So, you’re their little kitten, huh?”

“Shut up and drive.”, replied Mae facetiously.

“Whatever you say, ‘Queen of the Taco Buck’.”

Mae rolled her eyes and said nothing. Soon, they were on their way. It would take a few hours to reach Bright Harbor, so they had some time to kill. They passed the time with games of I spy and 20 questions. 2 hours in, the games became boring.

“Ugh, I’m _so_ bored.”, complained Mae as she threw her head back into the seat.

“We’re almost there. Just be patient.”, replied Bea.

“I’ve been patient for 2 hours, though. How much longer do we have?”, questioned Mae.

“I’d say another 2 hours.”, answered Bea.

“2 more hours?!”, exclaimed Mae, “I thought you said we were almost there?!”

“2 hours is a lot closer than 4, isn’t it?”

Mae groaned overdramatically, “Obviously, we have very different definitions of the word ‘close’.” She made air quotes with her fingers on the word “close”.

Bea simply replied, “I guess we do.”

Mae sighed, “At least we’re not in Possum Springs anymore.”

“Yeah. That town is almost dead. Everyone’s leaving.”

“Yeah, Germ went to college… somewhere, and Lori’s a film major in Bright Harbor. I’ve heard their film program is really good.”

“Bright Harbor has good colleges in general. It’s just a good place to be.”

“Maybe you could go to college.”, suggested Mae.

“If I do, it won’t be for a while. We’d need to save a lot of money unless you managed to get a job that pays enough to support both of us.”

“I’m sure I could do it.”, assured Mae.

“Maybe if you had a college degree. What did you even major in?”, asked Bea.

“Art.”

“Really? I never took you as an artsy person.”

“I draw in my journal a lot, but those are just quick sketches, so they don’t look really good.”

“Okay. Maybe that college degree wouldn’t have helped you as much as I thought.”

“Hey! Don’t be hatin’ on my art skills!”, replied Mae with playful anger.

“I’m not saying your art is bad, it’s just that art majors usually end up homeless more often than, say, an engineering major.”

“I guess that makes sense. I was always terrible at math and science.”

“I can see that.”

“Okay, that’s just mean.”

Bea snickered, “Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it?”

Mae thought for a moment before blurting out, “I challenge you to a math competition!”

“Mae, I was valedictorian. Do you really want to do that?”, warned Bea.

Mae hesitated for a bit, “No, I guess not.”

There was an awkward silence afterward that Mae ended up breaking, “Are you excited to see Gregg and Angus again?”

“Angus more so, but yeah.”

“What, do you not like Gregg?”, questioned Mae.

“No, it’s just I thought Angus would have found someone else by now.”, replied Bea.

“How could you say that? Those two need each other. Why would you want them apart?”

“I didn’t say I _wanted_ them apart. I just thought it would be inevitable that Angus would leave Gregg for someone more his type.”

“I… I don’t think you understand how much they need each other. Sure, Gregg can be a handful, but he’s what Angus needs in his life. He’s like… the jelly to Angus’ peanut butter.”

“What?”, asked Bea, confused.

“Angus is the peanut butter, thick and flavorful, while Gregg is the jelly, sweet and simple. You can’t just have peanut butter without jelly.”, explained Mae.

“What about Nutella?”

“Nutella’s overrated. Look, what I’m trying to say is that Angus needs Gregg just as much as Gregg needs Angus. They saved each other from being lonely sandwich toppings that no one would eat alone.”

“I know people who eat peanut butter sandwiches.”, said Bea.

“Well, tell those people that they’re weird. Do you get what I’m saying, though?”, asked Mae.

“Not really, but I know that Gregg’s a good person. I won’t doubt his decision. I just never saw him as Angus’ type.”

Mae settled for that, “Good enough, I guess.”

“So, do you think we’ll be living close to them?”, asked Mae.

“I’m not sure. They did just upgrade apartments, so I don’t know where they live now.”

“Have you even told them we’re moving there?”

“No, have you?”

“No. Wow, I can’t believe we haven’t said anything.”

“Well, your decision for us to move was very sudden, and there was a lot to do, so we haven’t had much time to talk to them.”, Bea pointed out.

“I just wanted it to be a surprise.”

“And it was a good one. There was nothing left for me in that town, especially after my dad went missing…”

“Do you really think he was one of them?”, questioned Mae.

“That’s the only reason I can think of. I really doubt he would just leave like that.”

“I guess, but don’t you ever just hope that he’s alive somewhere?”

“If I hope for something that’s impossible, it’s only going to hurt more. No use in putting myself through more pain than I need to.”

“I don’t know. I feel like if it hurts, then that means it meant something. Trying to detach yourself from it only makes it worse. If you hope, even a little bit, then whatever you’re putting hope in has to mean something, right?”

“Damn, someone decided to get philosophical all of a sudden.” There was a silence for a few moments until Bea spoke again, “I guess maybe, I hope he’s alive a little bit, or at the very least, that he’s happy wherever he is.”

“That’s all it takes, just a small amount of hope in the back of your mind, even though you know that it doesn’t make sense. Now, you know that your dad was more than just… shapes.”

“Is that how you’ve been dealing with that?”, asked Bea.

“I went through a lot during those first few weeks. We all did. I needed some way to cope because being back in Possum Springs wasn’t enough anymore. So much had changed, and so much was going to change. I needed something to hold onto, or I would’ve fallen apart.”

“… I’m sorry if I ever hurt you during that. I had no idea what was going on with you.”

“No, no, it’s fine. I was being an ass, and I hurt you, too, and Gregg, and Angus, and my parents. Even if I was going through all of that stuff, I shouldn’t have let it hurt you.”

“I do wish you would’ve told someone. We could’ve helped you a lot sooner if you had.”

“I know, I was just scared. I was worried about driving away the only people that still felt real to me.”

Bea placed a hand on Mae’s shoulder, “Mae, we wouldn’t have abandoned you. We care about you. We want you to be happy, just like we want the rest of us to be happy.”

“I know that now. Thank you for being there for me.”

“Hey, what are friends for?”

The rest of the car ride was fairly uneventful. The two transitioned from the previous heavy conversation topics to more car games. That was able to get Mae through the last two hours of the ride.

Finally, the shining city lights of Bright Harbor rose over the horizon.

“There it is! We’re finally here!”, exclaimed Mae.

“Yep. And this time, we’re here to stay.”

It was almost night, and the sun began to set. The hues of orange and yellow gave a wondrous backdrop to the start of the city’s energetic night-life. Neon signs pointing to bars, clubs, and restaurants passed Mae and Bea by as they drove to the apartment Mae had picked out for them.

By the time they reached their apartment, the sun had almost finished setting. When they pulled up to the front of the building, the door opened, and a very familiar fox stepped out.

“Gregg?!”


	2. Settling In

“Gregg?!”, called Mae as Bea pulled up to their new apartment.

Gregg, who had been looking at his phone when they arrived, looked up to see Bea’s car with Mae waving at him from the passenger-side window.

“Mae!” Gregg ran up next to the car as it came to a stop, “What are you doing here?! How did you know where we moved?!”

“You live here now?!”, exclaimed Mae.

“Yeah, we told you we moved. Wait, if you didn’t know we lived here, why are you here?” Gregg looked in the back seat, spotting the large amounts of luggage that was piled up.

Gregg’s eyes widened, “Oh my god, are you moving here?!”

“Yes! Yes, we’re moving here!”, replied Mae ecstatically.

“You really mean it?!”

“Yes! I totally mean it!”

“That’s, like, so awesome! Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”, asked Gregg.

“Well, she did kind of spring it on me, like, a few days ago, and she refused to let me use my laptop at all.”, answered Bea.

“I wanted to move as fast as possible. Also, I sort of wanted it to be a surprise.”, added Mae.

“You’re here!”, cheered Greg, still in disbelief.

“I’m here!”, Mae cheered back.

“You’re staying!”

“I’m staying!”

“Wow, this is, like, the best day ever, dude!”

“Awoo?”, invited Mae.

Gregg took a deep breath, “AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

“AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Footsteps came from inside the building. They were coming down the stairs.

“Bug, what is going on? I can hear you all the way from upstairs.”, said the voice of another familiar face. The figure of a red bear revealed itself when it came out the front door.

“Mae? Bea?”

“Hey, Angus.”, greeted Bea, waving a hand at Angus.

“What are you doing here?”

Gregg answered for them, “They’re moving in, cap’n!”

“Really? You’re moving in?”

“Well, why else would we have all of this stuff in the back of my car?”, replied Bea.

Angus was beaming, “That’s great news!”

“Wait ‘till we get to show you around town! There are so many cool places to visit! Bright Harbor has everything!”, said Gregg.

“Welcome to your new life. It’s good to see you finally made it.”, added Angus.

“Well, I guess we should get everything unpacked then.”, said, Bea, as she got out of the car.

“I can help you.”, offered Angus.

“Thanks, we’d appreciate it.”

“Sorry, I wish I could help, but I’ve got the night shift tonight.”, said Gregg.

“Oh, right. You work at that bar now. What’s it called?” Mae tried to remember the name, but Angus answered for her.

“The Moonlit Wonder. Name’s a bit over the top, but it’s a great place to experience Bright harbor’s raging nightlife.”

“Dudes, we should all go there tomorrow! I’m off tomorrow, so we could all go together and party into the night!”, suggested Gregg.

“Um, do you remember what happened the last time you let me around alcohol?”, asked Mae as she remembered the party from five years ago.

“Don’t worry, we may have failed our job as papa hawks last time, but I’ve had years of experience with people getting drunk off their asses, so I think I’m ready.”, assured Gregg.

“Also, isn’t that a gay bar?”, questioned Bea.

“Yeah, so what? If you’re worried about being hit on, just pretend Mae’s your girlfriend.”

Mae and Bea both began to blush at the thought of pretending to be each other’s girlfriends.

“Alright, I guess we can go.”, said Mae.

“Fine. I’ll go, too.”, added Bea.

“Woohoo!”, cheered Gregg.

“I’ll go as well.”, said Angus, “I’ll admit, it’s not too bad there. I think you’ll enjoy it. They even have a dance floor.”

Mae gasped, “Oh my god, I am going to tear this place up! My dancing skills are unmatched! I dare anyone to challenge me!”

Angus began lifting some boxes from the back of Bea’s car when Bea noticed something on his finger.

“Angus, is that a ring?”, asked Bea.

“Yes.”

“What’s it for?”

Angus looked at Gregg, “We agreed that you’d get to tell them.”

Gregg’s smile seemed to stretch for miles as he went to stand next to his boyfriend.

“We’re engaged!”, he announced.

“Holy shit, since when?!”, asked Mae.

“Since this morning.”, answered Angus.

“It took me six months of putting away money in secret, but it was worth it.”, said Gregg.

“Really, it didn’t have to be a diamond ring. I would’ve been fine with anything.”

“No. I had to make sure I got you the best. The smile on your face was worth every penny.”

“D’awww.”, cooed Mae.

“Congratulations!”, said Bea.

“When’s the wedding?”, asked Mae.

“Well… we weren’t really planning on one.”, replied Angus.

“What?! Why not?!”

“It’s just that neither of our families really approved of our relationship in the first place. I don’t think most of them would want to come.”

“We’d be there!”, argued Mae.

“Yeah, but spending thousands of dollars on a wedding that less than ten people would probably show up to just doesn’t seem like a good use of our money. We can always just get a marriage license and find someone who can wed us in private. You can even be there, too if you want.”, Angus explained.

“I’m sure Jen would come, too, and what about your brother?”, asked Gregg.

“They can come, too. It’ll be just the six of us and a judge.”

“Wait, Judges can wed people? I thought it was just a thing pastors did.”, questioned Mae, “When my mom and dad got married, they said it was under a pastor.”

“Well, anyone can technically wed people as long as they have the license for it.”

“Huh. The more you know. All right, so when were you planning on doing that?”

“Well, because it isn’t that expensive, we don’t have to wait too long. I’d say in a couple of weeks.”

“Just tell us when, and we’ll make sure our schedule is open.”, said Bea.

“Yep. We’ll be sure to do that.”

“Alright, it’s been nice talking, but I really need to get to work. I’ll see you later.”, said, Gregg, as he ran off.

“Do you guys have a car?”, asked Mae, grabbing some of the luggage from the car.

“Yes, but Gregg still doesn’t have a license. The bar is only a couple blocks away, though.”

“Oh, okay.”

The three carried the first batch of luggage up to where Mae said their room was.

“Oh, you live right below us.”, said Angus.

“Cool.”, replied Bea.

“Now, Angus, should we be worried about hearing any… you know?”, asked Mae, finding that she had just made the conversation much more awkward.

“Mae, we’re about to get married. I’m sorry, but we’re not putting our love life on hold just because it makes you uncomfortable sometimes.”

“Okay, can we not talk about this?”, requested Bea.

“But Bea, these are serious questions. I need to know what we’re going to be dealing with.”, argued Mae.

“Did you honestly think we were going to live in an apartment and not have to hear people having sex?”

“I guess you have a point, but it just feels weird thinking about Gregg and Angus…” Mae began to grimace at the horrifying images her mind was concocting.

“Then stop thinking about it. At the very least, stop voicing your thoughts out loud, please? Now, you’ve got me thinking about it, and it’s gross.”, replied Bea, who was internally cringing at what Mae was putting into her head.

“But what about when it actually happens?”

“Oh my god, shut up! Just drop it. I already don’t feel like eating dinner.”

The first trip was complete, and the three began to head down for a second one.

“You know, this is not the conversation I thought we would be having right now.”, said Angus.

“Me, neither, but Mae just _had_ to bring it up.”, replied Bea.

“I’m sorry. Oh, Gregg is going to laugh so hard when he hears about this, though.”, said Mae.

“Yeah, he’ll probably laugh his ass off.”, agreed Bea.

The three finished the second trip and went down for the last one. This was going to be the hardest one. They had to move the mattress and the couch. Angus agreed to bring the mattress up while Mae and Bea began maneuvering the couch up the stairs. After about 15 minutes of pain and suffering, both items were in the apartment.

“Alright, all that’s left is to unpack.”, said Bea.

“Can it wait ‘till tomorrow? It’s getting late. I’m tired.”, requested Mae.

“Fine. We can unpack tomorrow while we wait to go partying. Then, we can go job hunting the next day.”

“Finding a job is going to suck so bad.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Bright Harbor has a lot of opportunities compared to Possum Springs. I mean, Gregg’s a bartender. You’ll find something.”, assured Angus.

“What do you do again?”, asked Mae.

“I’m a computer support specialist.”

“Right. You are good at fixing computer problems with your hacking magics.”

“It’s not hacking or magic. It’s just ones and zeroes.”

“Yeah, yeah, hacking, magic, ones and zeroes, they’re all the same to me.”, said Mae dismissively.

“Well, it was good seeing you. I’ve got to get to bed, though. I have work in the morning. Goodnight.”, said Angus.

“Goodnight.”, replied Mae and Bae simultaneously.

“Well, I guess we should go to sleep, huh?”, asked Mae.

“Yep.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind sharing a mattress? I can sleep on the floor.”, Mae offered.

“Mae, you’re not sleeping on the floor. It’s fine. We’re only doing it until we have time to go back and grab your bed.”

“Right…”, said Mae. She was a bit disappointed this would only be temporary, but she knew it had to be this way. She could enjoy it while it lasted.

The two got on the mattress, not even bothering to move it into what would later be the bedroom.

“Goodnight, Mae.”, said Bea.

“Goodnight, Beabea.”

Bea didn’t pay much mind to the nickname. Mae liked to use it ever so often, so it didn’t really bother her at all. Mae, however, was scared that she had just gone too far. She sat there for about five minutes, scared that Bea would be suspicious of the sudden use of her nickname in bed, but nothing ever came to validate this fear. Eventually, both of them fell asleep.


	3. Tours and Tacos

Bea was the first to wake up in the morning. She decided to let Mae sleep in, knowing that soon, they would be working again, so she let her have this one day of rest.

Bea waited on making breakfast when she saw it was five in the morning.

“Why am I up so early? I usually sleep in late whenever I have a day off.”, Bea muttered to herself. She made herself a cup of coffee before getting to work on unpacking everything. She put away all of the food first followed by cleaning supplies and anything else that took up cupboard space. This was because it was the one thing she could do that wouldn’t wake Mae up.

After about three hours of unpacking, Bea had put away everything she could before she had to move on to rebuilding the tables, tv stand, bookshelves, and dresser, which she knew would wake Mae up. There was a knock at the door. Bea went to answer it to find that it was Angus.

“Oh, hey Angus.”, greeted Bea.

“Hey, Bea.”

“What’s up?”

Angus extended forward a pan of freshly-baked brownies, “I had some time to kill, so I decided to bake you some brownies to celebrate your move.”

“Oh, thanks! I’ll have to go eat one before Mae gets to them.”

Angus laughed, “Some things never change, do they?”

“I guess not.”

“Did you want any help with setting up?”, offered Angus.

“Actually, I was just about to rebuild my bookshelves and stuff. I’m sure I could use the help.”

“Sure. Is Mae awake?”, asked Angus as he followed Bea inside.

“No, but she’s about to be.”

On their way in, Bea placed the brownies on the kitchen counter. When they got back to the main room, Mae was already awake. She stretched for a bit and turned wearily to look at Bea and Angus.

“Hey, Bea. Oh, Angus is here, too?”

“Yeah. It’s good that you’re awake. I was about to wake you up myself.”, said Bea.

“What time is it?”

“About 8.”

“Really? That’s way too early.”, complained Mae.

“Well, I need to get these shelves set up, and I can’t really do that quietly.”

Mae sniffed at the air a bit, “Is that brownies?”

“Yeah. I baked them for you this morning.”, replied Angus.

Mae immediately seemed more awake, “Aw, yes! Brownies for breakfast!” She ran over to the brownies and took one in each hand. By the time she got back to Bea and Angus, half of one was already gone.

“Oh my god! Angus, these are so good! You always make the best brownies!”, said Mae while chewing.

“Thank you. When you live with Gregg, you find yourself making lots of brownies, so I’ve gotten good at it.”

“Mae, you’re getting crumbs all over the floor. Could you please go get a plate? They’re in that cupboard over there.”, requested Bea.

“Fine.” Mae went back out into the kitchen to grab a plate. When she returned, there were already two more brownies on it. She had finished eating one of them.

“And could you save some for me? You’re not the only one who really likes Angus’ brownies.”

“I’m flattered, Bea.”, said Angus.

“Hey, what can I say? They’re good brownies. Mae, could you get me the toolbox?”

“On it.” Mae ran over and got the toolbox for Bea. They then assembled all of Bea’s furniture. This took about an hour and a half. Then, Mae and Bea had to decide where to put everything, which took up another half an hour.

“This place is really starting to come together.”, said Mae.

“Alright. Now, we can put up any decorations. Give me anything you brought with you.”, requested Bea.

“Where should I put my bass?”

“Just keep it in one of the bedrooms for now. Do you have any pictures or posters?”

“Aw, man. I didn’t bring any family photos!”, Mae realized, “All I brought was my Witchdagger poster.”

“Well, that sucks. What about the envelope? What was inside it?”, questioned Bea.

“Oh, yeah! I was so excited about Gregg being here that I completely forgot!” Mae looked around for a bit until she found the envelope. She opened it, revealing a single photo. It was her favorite, too, just a nice family photo from when she was still in high school.

“Damn it! I don’t have a frame.”

“Well, it just so happens that I have some spare picture frames.”, said Bea as she brought out one of them. Mae found that it fit perfectly.

“That can also go in your room.”

Other than that, setting up the rest of the stuff wasn’t too hard. By the time they finished, all of the brownies were gone, most of them having been consumed by Mae.

“So, how’s Gregg?”, asked Mae.

“Tired. He’s sleeping right now. Working the night shift is much more demanding than the day shift.”, answered Angus.

“How often does he work the night shift?”

“He’s usually only there during the day, but he’s also the first person they call if the regulars can’t make it. People seem to really enjoy him.”

“I can see why.”

“What made him want to be a bartender?”, asked Bea.

“He just thought it would be cool, and they were hiring, so he did a short internship, and as it turned out, he was really good at it. It gave him something to apply himself to while also getting to socialize with people.”, explained Angus.

“So, what do we do now?”, wondered Mae.

“I could show you around.”, offered Angus, “There are a lot of cool sights to see.”

“Sure. We never really got to see too much the few times that we visited.”, replied Bea.

“Woo! Adventure!”, cheered Mae.

The three went out to Angus’ car and got in. 

“Wow. This car is pretty nice.”, commented Bea.

“Yeah, it was a bit pricey, but we thought we’d splurge for once.”

“How long have you had it?”, asked Mae.

“About a year. We’re still making payments on it.”

“Cool.”

Driving around town was a pleasant experience. Angus pointed out a variety of stores that Gregg and he visited as well as a few restaurants.

“Do you have a Taco Buck?”, asked Mae.

“No. Taco Buck was good, but it wasn’t good enough to compete with some of the other taco places we have. Possum Springs was its last resort.”, replied Angus.

“Do you mean there are _even better_ taco’s here?!”, said Mae with excitement.

“In my opinion, definitely. We’ll take you to one some time.”

Mae sat there, fantasizing about how good the tacos could be. Her mouth was watering just thinking about it.

“… Or, we could always go to one for lunch.”, Angus suggested, noting the dream-like trance that Mae seemed to be stuck in.

“Oh my god, yes!”

“All I ask is that you let me record you. Gregg’s going to want to see your reaction to your first Bright Harbor taco.”

“Deal!”, Mae immediately responded.

“Alright. I’ll show you some more places on the way. Our favorite place is a bit of a drive. Hey, didn’t that Lori kid say she was going to school here?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I think we’ll be passing by there soon.”

“Really? Oh, that’s so cool! I’ve only ever seen the pictures that she’s sent to me.”

“Well, prepare to see it in person.”

In a few minutes, the school came into view. It was huge. It housed departments for all kinds of arts, whether they be drawing, painting, musical, animation, film, and even culinary. There was a separate building for every division.

“Wow! This place is so big!”, exclaimed Mae.

“Well, they do have a lot going on. They have pretty much any kind of ‘art’ you can think of.”, said Angus.

As they passed by one of the buildings, a bunch of students began pouring out. As the crowd began to disperse, Mae caught sight of a certain, horror-infatuated mouse.

“Angus, slow the car down.”, Mae requested, “Lori! Hey, Lori! Over here!”

Lori searched a moment for the source of the voice before she spotted Mae. She quickly walked over to the car.

“Hey, killer! What’s up?”

“I live here now!”, announced Mae.

“Woah, really?! That’s great! It’s so nice here!”

“Hey, you got any plans right now?”, asked Mae.

“Not really. I just have some homework to do, but I can do that later.”

“You should come with us to get tacos!”, Mae suggested.

“Really? Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to intrude.”, questioned Lori, who was apprehensive about simply inserting herself into Mae’s group.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. You can be our replacement Gregg.”

“Well, sure then. I’m not sure how well I’ll do at being Gregg, though. That guy is pretty over the top.”

“You don’t actually have to be Gregg. I’ve been interested in meeting you. Mae’s told us a lot about you.”, assured Angus.

Lori suddenly seemed anxious, “Oh, well, I hope what she’s told you is good. Heh heh.”

“Don’t worry. We keep Mae around, so I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“Hey! What do you mean ‘keep me around’? I will have you know that I am an extremely likable person.”, replied Mae.

“That’s debatable.”, said Bea.

“What, you too?! Lori, can you believe these guys? I’m likable, right?”

“Weeellllllll…”

Mae feigned being offended, “Wow. Some friends you are.”

Everyone laughed, and Lori got in the car next to Mae in the back.

“I mean, do I like you now? Sure. Are you immediately likable? That’s debatable.”, Lori elaborated.

“I guess that’s good enough, but my feelings are still really hurt. These tacos are going to have to be really good for my broken heart to be healed.”

The car began moving again.

“So, you’re okay with her calling you killer?”, asked Bea.

“Yeah, I don’t mind so much anymore. I actually think it’s kind of cool. Plus, she said she’d make me the killer in one of her movies when she graduates.”, explained Mae.

“Sounds like the perfect role for you.”

“Thanks. I take pride in my amazing killer instincts.”

“Did you ever end up talking to that kid again?”, asked Lori.

“Andy Cullen? No. His family left after the incident. I wish I’d gotten the chance to apologize and stuff.”

“At least he didn’t die.”, said Bea.

“I guess that’s a silver lining. Still sucks, though.”, replied Mae.

“We’re here.”, Angus announced. They had arrived at the taco place.

“Taco Palace? They’re really raising the bar with that sign. They better be able to deliver.”, commented Mae.

“Tacos aren’t my favorite, but I’d say they deliver. Whenever me and Gregg get tacos, it’s from here unless we’re just really tired or don’t have the time to drive here.”, assured Angus.

Everyone got out of the car and went to enter the taco place, when Mae saw a promotion for the establishment’s newest addition to the menu.

“The taco tower? Oh my god, that’s so many tacos! How do they get them to stack like that?”

“Mae, we are not ordering ten tacos just because you think the tower looks cool.”, said Bea.

“But Bea, this is a work of art! I need to see it with my own eyes!”, begged Mae.

Bea sighed, “Fine, but your paying for every leftover taco, and please, don’t make yourself sick.”

“Woo!”

The four walked inside and went up to the counter.

“Hello, welcome to Taco Palace, what will you be ordering today?”, said the guy at the cash register.

They ordered the taco tower along with sodas of their choice.

“Alright. Go get seated, and your food will be out in a few minutes.”

The four went to sit at the nearest table. Angus and Lori both played on their phones.

“We really need to get phones now that there’s actually reception.”, said Mae.

“Well, save up some money and get one.”, replied Bea.

The next few minutes were relatively uneventful, but then, the tower arrived.

“Well, let’s get eating.”, said Mae.

The speed at which Mae could shovel down food never ceased to amaze. By the time everyone else had finished their first taco, Mae was on her third. Lori refrained from eating a second taco, while Bea and Angus took seconds, leaving Mae with five to consume. She made it until about halfway through her fourth one.

Mae clutched her stomach as it rumbled, “Oh god. These are so good. Why must all good things cause me pain?”

“Because you need to learn moderation.” Bea saw that Mae was about to throw up, “Okay, into the bathroom, now.”

Angus and Lori awkwardly waited at the table while Mae was stuck vomiting in a stall. It took Mae about five minutes to empty herself.

“Are you good?”, asked Bea.

“My mouth tastes like broken dreams.”

“I told you not to make yourself sick.”

“But they were _sooo_ good.”

“Moderation, Mae. Moderation.”

“Screw moderation! Why’s it always gotta get in the way of all of the good things in life?”

“Who knows? It’s just how it is.”

Mae finally exited the stall after flushing the toilet. When they got out, they found Lori and Angus deep in a conversation about something.

“Oh, hey, Mae. Are you okay?”, asked Lori.

“Yeah, I’m fine. What’re you guys talking about?”

“She was just telling me about the horror movie she wanted to make.”, said Angus.

Lori decided to elaborate, “The one about the window into another dimension, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. It seemed like a cool idea. Call me up if you need a killer.”, replied Mae.

“Well, this was going to be more of a psychological horror type of thing, not really a monster or serial killer one.”

“Oh, that’s fine. Just tell me when it’s done then. I’ll totally watch it.”

“Can we get going now? I’m getting sick of the smell of tacos.”, urged Bea.

The four exited the taco shop and reentered Angus’ car.

“So, where do you live, Lori?”, asked Angus.

Lori told him where she lived, and they dropped her off. They said goodbye before going back to the apartment. There were only a few hours left before they planned on going to the bar.

“So, are you two ready to party?”, asked Mae.

“Yeah, sure.”, said Bea.

“As long as Gregg’s there, it’ll be fun.”, added Angus.

“Woohoo, party!”

“Mae, you realize we still have a few hours, right?”, said Bea.

“Well, we need to build the hype. Now, come on, say it with me.”

“I’m good.”

“Man. You’re no fun.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way.”

Mae pouted a bit in the back seat until they arrived home. She was still excited to go to the party, though. Tonight would be a night to remember. Boy, would it be a night to remember.


	4. A Night to Remember

Gregg woke up a few hours after Mae and the others returned. Angus had invited Mae and Bea over to play some video games to pass the last couple of hours. Gregg came out to the sound of Mae groaning after losing another round with Angus.

“How do you even do that? I call hacks.”, said Mae.

“Years of practice. Gregg and I play a lot.”

“Speak of the devil.”, said, Bea, as Gregg walked into the living room.

“Hey, bug. Did you sleep well?”, greeted Angus.

“Yeah. What time is it?”

“Almost 3 o’clock.”, answered Bea.

“Damn. We still have a couple of hours to pass. I see you’re destroying Mae in Demontower, cap’n.”

“Yeah, but at least she isn’t as bad as Bea.”

“I don’t play video games.”, replied Bea.

“Why did they even make a Demontower fighting game? What’s the point? Where did all of these new characters come from?”, questioned Mae.

“Ever since Demontower was bought out, they’ve been trying to revamp the series. They’re even making an open-world action rpg. It comes out next week.”, explained Angus.

“How? How do you make a game about climbing a giant tower open-world? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Apparently, in the new game, you play as Palecat’s son, and he goes on a quest to learn about his father and slay some new big bad.”

“What? You don’t even get to play as Palecat? That’s so dumb.”

“From what gameplay I’ve seen, it looks really fun. I don’t really mind the change, as long as they make a good game.”

“I guess you’re right. Hey, Gregg, you wanna play? I’m tired of getting wrecked by Angus.” Mae extended the controller to Gregg.

“Sure. I’ll show you how it’s really done.”

Gregg lost. He lost really bad.

“Uh-huh. Yeah, you showed us how it’s done alright.”, said Bea sarcastically.

“Hey, I’d like to see you beat him. This dude’s, like, a hacker or something.”, argued Gregg.

“You’re the one who’s actually played this game before. Why would I be any better than you?”

“Would you guys rather play something else?”, asked Angus.

“Yes.”, replied Mae and Gregg in unison.

The four proceeded to play a variety of other games for the next five hours or so. After that, Angus made everyone lasagna for dinner, which everyone loved. Finally, it was time to party.

“Does everyone have their ids?”, asked Gregg.

“Yep.”

“Mhm.”

“I have mine.”

“Good. Now, who’s ready to party?!”, said Gregg.

“Woooooo!”, cheered Mae.

“Alright, everyone get in.”, urged Angus.

Gregg got in the front with Angus, while Bea and Mae sat in the back, and they began driving.

“Bea, are you excited?”, asked Mae.

“Yeah, I’m excited.”

“Then why do you seem so bored?”

“I’m just not as excitable as you. You’ve been around me long enough to know that.”, replied Bea.

“But there’s so much to be excited about. We made it to Bright Harbor! We’re about to go to a party! We get to hang out with Gregg and Angus more!”, argued Mae.

“I’m just not that much of a party person. I don’t even know anyone here except you three.”

“I know. It’s just that I wish I got to see you really happy more, like that time we went to the mall. That felt so great because you laughed. You were happy. I want more of that.”

“Well, if you show me a good time, you might just get that again.”

Mae’s face lit up, “Really? Oh, this is going to be the best night of your life!”

It only took a few minutes to reach the club. Darkly-colored lights pulsed with the beat of the electronic dance music. Dozens of people mingled with each other, drunk together, and danced together. Once inside, Gregg showed everyone to the bar. The deer at the bar seemed to recognize Gregg, and he waved him over.

“Hey, Jeremy. So, are you okay?”, greeted Gregg.

“Hey, Gregg. Yeah, I’m fine. Emily took good care of me. Thanks for covering my shift last night. So, can I get you anything?”

Gregg ordered “the usual”, which turned out to be a cocktail some sort.

“Wait, so you have a girlfriend?”, questioned Mae.

“Wife, actually.”, Jeremy showed off his ring, “Why do you ask?”

“I thought this was a gay bar?”

“So? That doesn’t mean I have to be gay. It’s just close to where I live, and it pays well.”

“I feel like working the night shift would make having a relationship hard.”, commented Mae.

“Funny thing, actually. Emily’s a bartender, too. She works the night shift at a different place nearby.” Jeremy finished Gregg’s drink and handed it to him. Bea ordered a martini, and Angus ordered a margarita.

“Guys? My knowledge of alcohol is limited to beer. I have no idea what to order. Help?”, requested Mae.

Gregg simply ordered Mae what he was having. The cocktail was given to Mae, and she took a sip. It was surprisingly sweet. Unlike most alcoholic beverages Mae had suffered through in the past, this one wasn’t too bad.

“Huh. Not bad. I could drink this.”

“I thought you might like it. It is a bit stronger than that watered-down beer you drank that one time, though, so don’t drink too many.”, warned Gregg.

“Oh, bug, I completely forgot to tell you about what happened earlier. We took Mae to the Taco Palace.”, said Angus.

“Oh my god, really?! What was her reaction like?”

“I actually managed to film it. Here, I’ll show you.”

Angus took out his phone and proceeded to show the video of Mae’s first bite.

_“Oh my god, how can tacos be so good?! My life has been a lie! Oooooooh, it’s so good!”_

Gregg began laughing, “Geez, Mae. You got a _little_ too excited over those tacos.”, commented Gregg.

“She threw up after that.”, added Angus.

“No way.” Gregg’s laughs became louder. A few people gave them strange looks.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. It was totally worth it.” Mae finished her drink, “Alright. It’s time to dance! Let’s go, Bea.” Mae grabbed Bea and pulled her over to the dance floor.

“Oh, do I finally get to see Mae’s aMaezing dance moves?”, asked Gregg.

Angus and he walked over to the dance floor to witness the magic.

“I hope you fall and snap your neck!”, called Gregg.

“I hope Jeremy poisoned your drink!”, replied Mae.

“I hope the police come in and shoot you for giving me death threats!”

“I hope the police shoot you, too.”

Angus and Bea looked on in slight confusion. They never understood this game that they played. Angus had tried once, but it was pretty bad.

“Alright, enough with that. It’s time to show you how to dance!” Mae unleashed her inner party animal and began dancing wildly. Gregg and Angus stared in amazement.

“Dude, she is crazy!”, said Gregg to Angus.

Bea began dancing, too, albeit not as good as Mae.

“Woo! Go, Mae!”, cheered Gregg.

Mae danced even harder. Then, she thought back to what Bea said in the car.

Mae grabbed onto Bea’s arm, “Come on, Bea. Let’s go!”

Mae began leading Bea in a dance. They spun around wildly yet gracefully. Bea let out a soft giggle as they danced.

“Come on, you can do better than that! Smile!”

Bea began to fully laugh.

“There it is! That’s what I’ve been waiting for!”, exclaimed Mae.

Mae led Bea all around the dance floor. Everyone began looking on as Mae’s inherent dance skills began to shine.

Mae stopped their wild dance as the music died down a bit, instead going for a slower, more intimate one, “Are you having fun now?”, asked Mae cockily.

“Yes. Come on, let’s keep going!”

“As you wish.”, said Mae. She began to dance more erratically, which Bea seemed to enjoy. Unfortunately, Mae accidently ended up throwing herself into something, causing her to drop Bea to the floor with an audible thud.

“Oh my god, Bea, I’m _so_ sorry! I didn’t mean to, I swear!” Mae helped Bea up.

“It’s fine. What even happened?”

“I bumped into something. I don’t know what it was.”, Mae turned around to see what she had run into, but she immediately wished she hadn’t. Staring back at her was a face she immediately recognized.

“Andy Cullen?”

“Margaret? Is that you?”

Mae’s mind completely shut down. She didn’t know what to say.

“Um, I need to go.”, was her eventual response. She walked rapidly into the crowd and back to the bar, ordering another drink.

“Mae? I’m sorry about bumping into you! Where did you go?”, called Andy.

Mae drank the second drink way too quickly. She ordered a third. She needed some liquid courage right now.

Mae was halfway through her third drink when Andy arrived. She was already feeling a bit tipsy.

“Mae. I’m glad I found you. Why did you run away from me? Sorry I called you Margaret earlier if that’s what was wrong. I know you used to hate that name.” He awkwardly laughed a bit.

“Why would that be why I’m upset?”, asked Mae, her voice sounding noticeably drunker.

“Well, what is making you upset?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I smashed your head in with a baseball bat.”

“Oh, Mae, that was years ago. If it makes you feel any better, I forgive you. I’m sure you had a good reason for it.”

“No no no no no, u can’t juzt furgive me like that.” Mae’s vision began to get fuzzy.

“Why not? Y’know, I’m sure you’re not a bad person.”

“Dammit. Why d’ya hafta be so nice? You shouldn’t be forgiving me. I’ma horrible person.”, Mae finished the last of her drink.

“I’m sure that’s not true.”

Bea, Gregg, and Angus found their way back to the bar.

“Mae? What are you doing?”, asked Bea.

“Oh, no.”, said Gregg, “I know that look. Mae’s shitfaced drunk.”

“Shit.”, replied Bea, “Mae, I think we need to go home.”

Mae began sobbing out of nowhere, “I’m a horrible persn, yet somehow, theez people don’ hate me. I don’ deserve ‘em!”

“Mae, come on. Let’s go home and get some rest.”, pleaded Bea.

“B-Bea? I’m zorry u havta live with me. You deserve better.”

“Mae, that’s not true. Now, come on, let’s go.”

Mae didn’t even seem to hear Bea’s statement and continued on with her rant, “Iz just, I can’t stand th’ th-thought of not being with you! I know yur straight, but I juzt, I can’t stop thinking about y-you.”

Bea went to physically grab Mae, “Mae, we can talk about this later. Let’s go.”

Gregg walked up to Andy, “Here’s our phone number. I think Mae will want to talk later. If you want to talk to her, call around 6 or so. Name’s Gregg, by the way.”

“I, like, luv you ‘nd stuff. I’m s-sorry that you hafta hear this from an asshole l-like me, but I juzt can’t s-stop.”

Bea ended up having to carry Mae to the car. Mae got in a few more self-deprecating remarks and a few more apologies before falling asleep on the way to the car.

“Well, that was short-lived.”, said Gregg.

“I can’t believe she got away from us so fast.”, said Angus.

“She is really short. She blended in with the crowd like some sort of ninja.”

“Do you think she actually meant what she said before? About loving me and stuff?”, asked Bea.

“I mean, that was an awful lot to be just from alcohol.”, replied Angus.

“Well, we don’t know how many she drank.”

“I asked Jeremy on the way out, and he said she had two after she got back.”, said Gregg.

“She got that drunk from only three drinks? Maybe, we just shouldn’t let her drink anymore.”, suggested Bea.

“That’d probably be for the best.”, replied Angus.

“I guess I’ll talk to her about what happened tomorrow. I could use some sleep.”

“We all could use some sleep.”, said Angus.

“Not me! I just got up a few hours ago! I was expecting to party all night.”

“Well, you could always pull an all-nighter like you usually do. Just remember that you do have work tomorrow, unlike the rest of us.”

“Yeah, I know.”

The four soon got home. Bea carried Mae inside and said goodnight to Gregg and Angus. She laid Mae on their bed before climbing in herself. She was not looking forward to the conversation that would inevitably happen tomorrow.


	5. Hangover Confessions

Mae woke up the next morning with a horrible throbbing in her head. She realized she must have gotten really drunk last night, making this a hangover.

Mae took a few moments to recollect the events of the previous night. A lot had happened, and it began to come back to her in chunks.

_“I danced with Bea. Damn it! I got her to finally laugh, and I dropped her. I bumped into… Andy Cullen. Shit, did I say something dumb? I probably did. Wait, that’s why I got drunk. What did I do after that? I began rambling. What did I say? I remember calling myself a horrible person and telling him he shouldn’t forgive me. There was something else, though. What was it…”_

“Mae? Earth to Mae?”

The memory returned as soon as she noticed Bea calling to her.

_“Wait… Shit shit shit shit shit! Please tell me I didn’t actually say that!”_

“Oh, hey Bea. How are you?”

“Good. Um, I was wondering if you wanted to talk about last night.”, offered Bea.

_“Shit!”_

“O-okay.”, Mae managed to stutter out.

_“This can’t be happening!”_

“Well, I guess I should start by asking if you’re feeling alright.”

Mae absently nodded.

_“Okay, so far so good. She hasn’t said anything about my drunken confession yet. Maybe, it didn’t happen.”_

“That’s good. So, about what you said.”

_“Shit, say something!”_

“Oh, yeah, that. Y’know, I didn’t really mean it when I said I’m a horrible person. I mean, I was just really drunk, and seeing Andy Cullen brought back a lot of bad memories, so I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“Mae, we both know that’s not what I’m talking about.”

_“Fuck. Why is this happening? I can’t lose her!”_

“Bea, I didn’t mean- I mean, I know it wouldn’t- Shit. I’m sorry if- No, wait, I just don’t-“, Mae couldn’t seem to get out a full sentence.

_“Mae, what are you doing?! You’re screwing everything up, just like you always do!”_

“I- you- we- It’s just- I can’t-“ Mae was shaking and on the verge of tears.

_“You can’t lose her! You’re screwing it up! What are you going to do without her?!”_

_“I’m trying! I don’t know what to do! I don’t know what to say! If I lose her, what’s left?”_

_“Shapes. Just shapes.”_

_“No, I can’t let it go back to that.”_

_“There’s nowhere to hide if she leaves. She’s your home now. If home’s gone, it’s all just shapes.”_

Mae had stopped attempting to form sentences entirely. Instead, she focused on trying to hold back the sobs and the shaking.

“Mae, calm down. It’s going to be okay. Breathe. Take deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out.”

Mae followed with Bea. It was sad to her that she knew how to deal with this. It had happened enough times after they killed the cult that Bea knew how to calm her down when it did. Even when her dad went missing, she still managed to keep it together for Mae when she got like this.

Soon, the shaking stopped, and the tears slowed down.

_“You’re 25. You shouldn’t still be having emotional breakdowns like this.”_

_“Why am I like this?”_

“Okay. Try again. What did you want to say?”

“I don’t know. I just fell like anything I would say would just be a less drunk version of what I said last night.”

“If that’s what you want to say, then say it.”

Mae took a moment to figure out what to say, “I… love you? Is this what that feels like?”

“Well, how do you feel?”

“Sick. Not from the alcohol. Scared and safe, sad and happy, it never stays the same. I always have butterflies in my stomach. I… never really stop thinking about you.”

“Okay. How long have you felt this way?”

“I think it started about two years after I got back.”

“Wow. That’s a pretty long time.”

“I couldn’t tell you. I needed you, especially after Gregg and Angus left. I knew it would never work, and I’d rather keep you as a friend than lose you because I got too selfish.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Think about it this way. After my dad went missing, who did I have left?”

Mae wasn’t sure how to answer that, so she just waited quietly.

“I had you. I didn’t have any other friends or family. It was you, or it was nobody.”

“Where are you going with this?”, asked Mae.

“What I’m saying is, as weird as this sounds, I needed you, too.”

“Okay. What does this have to do with my drunken confession of love?”

“I guess I might as well skip to the point. I’ll try it.”

“What?”

“We can… date. We’ll see how it goes. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll still be friends. Deal?”

Mae stared at Bea in shocked silence as she took in the weight of what she just said.

“Aren’t you straight, though? You slept with that guy in math camp.”, questioned Mae.

“And you dated Cole. Bisexuality exists, y’know.”

_“This is your chance! It’s actually happening!”_

_“This is only going to end in heartbreak. It’ll hurt less if you end it now.”_

“I don’t want you to just date me out of pity, because then it’s not going to work, and I don’t know if I can deal with that right now.”

“I’m not. Now, are we doing this or not?”

_“Go for it! She’s opening the door! Just step through! One step is all it takes!”_

“Deal.”

There was a moment of silence between the two until Bea spoke, “So, I guess we’re doing this now. How should we go about-“

Mae pulled Bea in for a sudden hug, “Thank you.”

“Okay, I guess we can start with this.” Bea awkwardly hugged Mae back.

When Mae finally pulled away from the hug, she realized something else she needed to do, “Oh, god. I really screwed up with Andy. He was being so nice, and I just broke down in front of him. I wish I could talk to him.”

“Actually, I think you still can.”

“Really? Do you know where he lives or something?”, asked Mae.

“No, but Gregg gave him his phone number and told him to call. If he calls, it won’t be until later, though.”, explained Bea.

“So, what do we do until then? Should we go job hunting?”

“Nah. Last night was a disaster. Let’s take today off, so we can deal with your hangover. We can go tomorrow.”

“Aww, but tomorrow’s Sunday.”, whined Mae.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t scout out some jobs. So, do you want some lunch?”

“Lunch?! How long did I sleep?!”

“It’s almost noon.”

“That’s like 16 hours! How?!”, exclaimed Mae.

“Well, you did get really drunk. I still don’t understand how three cocktails can make you that drunk. Oh, that reminds me. My first decree as your girlfriend is that you are not allowed to drink, ever.”

_“Oh my god, she said it! She said ‘girlfriend’!”_

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best. Hangovers suck.”

“I’m glad we agree. So, lunch?”

The two enjoyed lunch together. Bea made sure Mae drank a bunch of water. She had been through hangovers herself before, so she knew that dehydration was a major factor. Other than that, she just encouraged Mae to eat her lunch and get some more sleep.

Bea managed to get Mae back into bed. Afterwards, she went on her laptop and found a message from Angus.

_So, how’s Mae doing?_

_Good. I just got her back to sleep. She had a pretty bad hangover._

_Did you talk to her about last night?_

_Yeah. I said I’d date her._

_Wow. That went differently than I was expecting. I didn’t think she was your type._

_“My type.”,_ Bea thought to herself, _“Is this what Mae was talking about?”_

_And I never thought Gregg was your type._

_Point taken. Do you think it’ll work out?_

_I hope it will. I don’t know how she’d react if it didn’t._

_You know, you shouldn’t date her because you feel bad. That’s unhealthy._

Bea took another moment to think, _“Is this what I want?”_

_This is what I want._

_As long as you know that’s true, you should be fine._

_Thanks._

_No problem. I’m happy for you._

_What are your plans for today?_

_I was just going to sit around in my underwear and play video games._

_Cool. I’ll probably just play around on my laptop all day._

_What happened to job hunting?_

_I figured that with Mae’s hangover, it would be fine to wait until tomorrow. We still have some money saved up anyways._

_Alright. Well, I got a raid to do in sword people online 2, so I’m gonna have to let you go._

_Okay. Have fun with that. Bye._

_Bye._

Bea spent the next six or so hours marathoning some shows on her laptop until Mae finally woke up.

“Hey, Mae. Feeling better?”, asked Bea.

Mae yawned, “Yeah, I feel a lot better now. What time is it?”

“6:14.”

“Wow. That’s, like, 6 hours. What have you been doing this whole time?”

“I marathoned a bunch of the episodes of some of the shows I watch.”

“6 hours of tv?! How?!”

“You’ve told me yourself about your all-night gaming sessions.”

“Yeah, but that’s gaming. At least I’m doing something instead of just watching people do things.”, argued Mae.

“Sometimes, I just want to sit around and do nothing, okay? Getting you out of one of your emotional breakdowns is draining. Also, I didn’t really have much else to do. I don’t have games on my laptop, and I didn’t feel like going out, so this was all that was left.”, explained Bea.

“I’m sorry I made you deal with that.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m here for you.”

There was a knock at the door.

“Mae? Are you awake yet?”, called the voice of Gregg from outside.

“Yeah, I’m coming.” Mae lethargically stood and made her way to the door. She opened it, and Gregg handed her his phone.

“It’s Andy. He was wondering if you wanted to talk.”

“Okay.” Mae hesitantly took the phone, “Hello?”

“Hey, Mae. It’s me, Andy.”

“Yeah, I know. Um, sorry about last night.”

“No, no, it’s fine. I was being a bit too forward.”

“No, you weren’t. I was just being an ass.”

“Did you wanna talk about the softball incident? It seemed like it bothered you a lot.”

“I think it bothered me more that you were so cool about it. Like, ever since then, I’ve hated myself for it, and then you come along acting like it’s no big deal.”

“Well, I’m sorry I made you feel that way. There was no permanent damage, so there’s that. I mean, I had to go through a bit of therapy, and I did resent you for a while, but in the end, it seemed like you had bigger problems than I had. You really freaked out back then.”

“I was… going through a lot.”

“Well, I don’t hate you, and I think you shouldn’t feel bad about it anymore. Can we just put it behind us?”, Andy offered.

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

“Cool. Maybe, we could even become friends. I go to that place most weekends. I’m actually a pretty big party person.”

“Wow. I mean, sure. If you want to. Gregg works there, so I feel like I may end up going back eventually. I’ll just avoid the alcohol. Also, are you queer?”

“Yes, actually. Are you?”

“Yes. Now, quick question. Do you think the reason you’re queer is because I, a girl, bashed your face in?”

Andy laughed a bit too hard at that, “I was scared of girls for a little while after that, but it didn’t turn me gay. Y’know, I actually had a bit of a crush on you for a little while until that whole thing happened. I think that may have driven me away from relationships for a while until I met this really nice guy who I went out with for a bit. It didn’t work out, though.”

“Really? Wow. So, I didn’t turn you gay, but I made you realize that you were gay faster?”

“I guess you could say that.”

“Cool. Um, it was really nice to get to talk to you about all of this.”

“Same, here. I hope we get to meet again soon, preferably when you aren’t drunk.”

“Yep. I’ll look forward to it.”

“Okay. I guess this is goodbye for now. Bye.”

“Goodbye.”

Mae ended the call and handed the phone back to Gregg.

“Thanks for letting me talk to him.”

“It was nothing. Anything for you, dude. So, I hear that you and Bea are a thing now?”, asked Gregg.

“Oh, uh, yeah! Yeah, we became a thing, uh, this morning!”

“Noon.”, Bea corrected.

“Right, um, yeah! Noon! We’ve been a thing since noon!” Mae was blushing nervously. This was still all new to her. The last time she had been in a relationship was with Cole, and that ended horribly.

“Well, good luck with that. I’m gonna get back to Angus. He’s pretty excited about his game. He finally completed the gear set he’s been trying to get for, like, the past 3 months.”

“Man, I wish we could play sword people online 2 with him. It seems like a lot of fun.”

“Hey, don’t tell him I said this, but I’m actually planning on buying him a new computer for Longest Night. He can take his hard drive from his old one and put it into the new one, and I’ll just buy a new hard drive so I can use the old computer. Then, we’ll be able to play together.”, explained Gregg.

“Oh, that’s so awesome! I might just need to save for a gaming computer, too. Then, we could all play!”

“That’d be so cool! Dude, definitely try to do that.”

“I will.”

“Okay, I’m gonna get going now. See ya.”

“See you later.” Mae closed the door after Gregg left.

“That worked out surprisingly well.”, said Bea.

“I know. He’s so nice. It almost makes me feel worse for what happened, but now, he’s gonna make me feel bad for feeling bad, so it’s probably best to not feel bad.”

“Probably.”, replied Bea.

“So, what now?”

“I guess we can eat dinner and hang out for a while.”

“Sure. That sounds nice.”, agreed Mae.

“Tomorrow, we go job hunting.”

“Yep. Tomorrow, we go job hunting.”


	6. On the Hunt

Bea was once again the first to wake up. It had taken Mae longer to fall back asleep after all of the sleep she already had yesterday.

“Mae? Mae, wake up.”

Mae grumbled a bit, “Five more minutes, please?”

“Nope. Hate to break it to ya, but we’re adults now. We don’t get ‘five more minutes’.”

“ _Fine_ , I’ll get up.”, groaned Mae, who overdramatically rolled out of bed.

“What do you want for breakfast?”, asked Bea.

“Just some cereal, thanks.”

Bea went out to prepare two bowls of cereal while Mae went to prepare some clothes to put on after she showered.

“Mae, we ran out of the frosted flakes. What do you want instead?”, called Bea from the kitchen.

“Just give me whatever you’re having.”

“Are you sure? The cereal I eat isn’t loaded with sugar like yours.”, Bea warned.

“It’s fine. I’m an adult, now. I have to eat adult cereal.”

“Wow. You’re just the embodiment of adulthood, aren’t you?”

“Yep. I’m a full-fledged adult.”

“Alright. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Mae finished picking out her clothes for the day and went out to the kitchen. She sat at the table with Bea, taking a spoonful of cereal and shoving it in her mouth. The way her face contorted in an agonized look caused Bea to laugh a bit.

“You liking that ‘adult’ cereal?”

Mae reluctantly swallowed, “Oh, yeah, it’s great. I love being an adult.”

Bea sent Mae a cheeky smile, “Okay, just wanted to make sure. Now, eat the rest of it so we can get going.”

Mae stared loathingly down at the bowl of milk-covered cardboard she had brought upon herself. How could anyone eat this cereal? Bea stared at her, waiting for her to crack.

Mae finally gave in, “Okay, no, I’m sorry, but this is a crime against breakfast food! How could anyone ruin the most important meal of the day with this garbage?! The company who makes this cereal should be sued for destroying breakfast!”

“Thought so.”, said Bea, “So, we have some pancake mix. Do you want that?”

“Yes! I need something to wash the taste of sin out of my mouth.”

“Sin? What, did the devil create this cereal?”

“I don’t believe in the devil, but this might just push me over the edge. Only the devil could create something so evil!”

Bea began adding water to the pancake mix, “Was it really that bad?”

“Yes! It was like ash! Screw broken dreams! This is what you get when dreams don’t even exist!”

“Okay. Just remember that I did warn you.”

“Yeah, I know. Still, that cereal deserves to burn.”

“If you say so, miss ‘adult’.”

“Burn!”

Bea finished making the pancakes while eating her cereal. She had finished eating by the time the pancakes were done.

“Alright, I’m going to go take a shower while you eat.”, said Bea, as she walked off to grab some clothes.

“Okay. Thank you for saving breakfast.”

“Heh heh. You’re welcome.”

Mae ate her breakfast, getting lost in her thoughts as she did.

_“This is actually working! Bea likes me!”_

_“She’s probably just ‘dating’ you because you cried. Don’t get your hopes up.”_

_“No, that’s not true. I’m a good person. Right?”_

_“Are you kidding me? It took you getting shitfaced drunk and making an ass out of yourself just to confess your feelings. This won’t last. You aren’t good enough for her._

_“No, stop it. You’re just going through what Gregg went through. Talk to him about it.”_

Mae got out her laptop and messaged Gregg.

_Dude, can you talk?_

_Yeah, sure. Not for too long, though. I have to leave for work in a few minutes._

_Okay._

_What did you need to talk about?_

_Well, remember when you told me that you were just parking lot trash and stuff?_

_Yeah? What about it?_

_I feel like I’m starting to do that to myself. Did you ever move past that?_

_Not fully. Like, I stopped hating myself and stuff, but I’m still afraid of losing Angus sometimes. I guess it just comes with being in love._

_Not the answer I was hoping for._

_Sorry if that wasn’t what you were looking for._

_No, it’s fine._

_Well, I’ve really got to go, but if you want to talk about it more later, just call me up. We can go hang out and talk about our insecurities together, like true bros._

_You, Greggory, are the truest of bros._

_Thanks, bro. I try._

_Well, I’ll let you go then._

_Okay. Bye._

Mae closed her laptop, not fully satisfied with what Gregg had given her. She could talk to him later, though. A few minutes later, the shower turned off. Bea came out wrapped in a towel.

“Mae, you can get in the shower now.”, called Bea.

“Coming!” Mae sprung up and went over to the bathroom. Part of her was slightly disappointed that Bea had already gone into their room and closed the door, but she quickly pushed those thoughts aside. She needed to focus.

Mae went and took a shower fairly quickly. She didn’t really care that much about being spotless for her employers. About fifteen minutes later, she had mostly dried off and was ready to get dressed. She wore a casual red, button-up shirt and dark blue jeans. It gave her a clean look.

Bea had on a simple green t-shirt and dark gray pants. They both looked casual, but not too casual. They were ready to go job hunting.

Bea and Mae drove around, taking note of all of the establishments that were close to their home. They would rather not have to drive a long distance if they didn’t need to. Surprisingly, there were a lot of places that were hiring.

“Man, there are so many jobs. Like, Possum Springs almost never had new jobs. This is crazy!”, exclaimed Mae.

“Well, we are in Bright Harbor. This place is known for being a great place to live, and that includes jobs.”

“Where should we apply?”

“Pick out a few jobs that seem interesting, and apply for them. Then, we’ll wait for any who call back to set up interviews and stuff. You have copies of your resume, right?”, asked Bea.

“Yep. Got my garbage resumes right here. College dropout who worked at Taco Buck for 5 years for hire!”, said Mae in an over-the-top salesperson voice.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“As long as you’re here, I’ll _Bea_ fine.” Mae struggled to not giggle at her own joke.

“Mae, no. We are not doing this again.”

“Come on, Bea. Stop _Bea_ ing such a downer.”

“Oh my god.”

“Come on, why’re you hating on my A _Mae_ zing, _Bea_ utiful puns?”

“Mae, if you don’t stop, you’re sleeping on the couch tonight.”, threatened Bea.

“Fiiiine. You know my puns were great, though.”

“Uh-huh, sure. Have you seen any places that interest you yet?”, asked Bea.

Mae stared outside for a moment, looking for someplace that interested her. Then, she caught a glimpse of some construction work in the distance. Repairs were being done on an apartment building.

“Construction worker.”, muttered Mae.

“What? I couldn’t hear you.”, said Bea.

“Construction worker. They don’t need college degrees, right?”

“No, I don’t think so. Are you sure, though? It’s going to be a lot of physical labor.”, questioned Bea.

“I need more physical labor in my life. Working at the Taco Buck meant I never got to just be outside. I think I would like it.”, Mae explained.

“Well, you’re going to need to get training before you become a full-fledged construction worker.”

“Well, let’s go ask them.”, urged Mae. Once they got there, Bea noted the construction tape that prohibited them from getting near the construction.

“Who cares, it’s just tape. We could easily walk over it.”

“Yes, and we could just as easily get seriously injured.”, Bea retorted.

“Come on, we’ll be fine.”, argued Mae.

“Well, go ahead then. You’re an adult now. You can make your own stupid decisions.”

“Wait. I have an idea.” Mae picked up a rock and was about to throw it at one of the workers.

“Mae, what are you doing?! Are you trying to get us arrested?!”, yelled Bea.

Mae didn’t listen to Bea and threw the rock anyways. It hit the worker in the back, and they turned around. Bea stared, horrified, as Mae waved the guy over.

“Hey! Come over here!”, called Mae while waving her arms around. The guy, who was revealed to be a bear, walked toward them, and they saw that he had a clipboard.

“Oh my god, I think you just threw a rock at the manager.”, said Bea.

Finally, the person reached Mae and Bea, “So, may I ask why you are throwing rocks at me?” His tone was dark, but not angry.

“I’m sorry, it’s just so loud here, and I needed to get your attention. I couldn’t walk up and speak to you because Bea here insisted that walking into the construction zone would be too dangerous.”, Mae explained.

“Well, obviously, your friend is a sensible person then. There’s a reason we wear helmets. Now, what exactly did you want to talk about?”, asked the construction worker.

“I was wondering if I could get a job here.”

“And you’re also the person who thought that walking into a construction zone with no protection was a good idea?”

“Um, well, yeah, I guess.”

The guy stared Mae down for a few seconds, and Mae found it increasingly difficult to keep her composure.

Finally, the person laughed, “You’ve either got guts, or you’re outright stupid, kid. I like it. Sadly, I’m not in a position to hire people. I can give you the address to our headquarters, though. What prior experience do you have?”

“I worked at a taco place for five years.”

“Well, looks like you’re going to need some training then.” He gave Mae the address, “Name’s Harvey, by the way. What might you be called?”

“Mae. My name’s Mae Borowski.”

“Nice to meet you, Mae.” He extended his hand out, and Mae shook it. “So, I wish you luck in getting a job here. Also, don’t go walking into construction sites or throwing rocks at people. It’s just stupid, and it’s a good way to wind up hurt or in jail. You could have just looked up construction companies in Bright Harbor, and you would have found us.”

“Oh, uh, thanks.”

“Yep. No problem. Hope to see you around.”

“Uh, you, too.”

Harvey walked off, leaving Mae and Bea with an address to go to. Bea struggled to decide whether to yell at Mae for throwing a rock at the guy, but she didn’t want to start an argument.

_“I guess it did work out. Just let it go, Bea. At least she’s trying.”_

“Alright, I guess we’re going here now.”, said Bea, taking the address from Mae.

“Have you seen any jobs that interest you?”

“Well, since now, I’m going to need to provide for both of us if you get that apprenticeship, I’ve narrowed down my options. I have a few places to check out after we hand in your resume, and then, we’ll go home.”

“I’m sorry if I’m making things harder for you.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’ll only be harder until you get the job. Then, we should be good.”

“That’s assuming I both get the apprenticeship and am good at the job.”, replied Mae.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

A few minutes later, they were at the entrance to the main building of the company. Mae went to get out, but Bea stopped her.

“Mae, there’s still something we need to do first.”

“What is it?”, asked Mae.

“We need to write you a cover letter.”

“What’s a cover letter?”

“It basically just gives an overview of what you’re looking for, your past experience, and why you want the job.”

“Isn’t that what the resume’s for?”, questioned Mae.

“This is more of an introduction. Look, I’ll help you write it. I even brought my laptop. We can type it in here and print it once we’re inside.”

“Fine. Let’s just get it over with.”, Mae complained. The two spent the next fifteen minutes or so writing and editing the cover letter.

“Bea, we’ve checked it three times now. I think we’re good.”, said Mae.

“If there’s a single error on here, they won’t hesitate to throw it out. I’ve had to hire people before. I know how it goes.”

“Geez. That’s really strict. Like, if I miss a comma while trying to say that I want a job, they just throw it out? Why do I even need to tell them that I want a job at the place that I’m applying for a job at? That should be obvious!”, complained Mae.

“Employers don’t want to spend time combing through a resume to find that, guess what? The person that didn’t care to take a few minutes to check over the few paragraphs that give your employers first impressions of them isn’t very qualified for the job. Wow, what a shocker.”, replied Bea.

“Alright, fine. We can check it over again.”

They proceeded to check it over 2 more times before heading in to print it out. They hooked the laptop up to one of the computers and printed the cover letter out before stapling it to the front of Mae’s resume. They then went up to the front desk and handed it to her, letting her know that Mae was applying for an apprenticeship.

“So, what now?”, asked Mae.

“Now, I have a few places to stop by, and then, we can go home, unless you have anywhere else to apply. After that, we wait for callbacks.”, answered Bea.

“Yeah, I think I’m good on applying for jobs for now. I don’t know if I could handle working at another fast food place.” 

“Suit yourself.”

Bea applied to a few places on the way home. Most of them were manager positions. With her prior experience, she hoped she could start as a manager, so she could also start with a higher wage. One place that surprised Mae was a hardware store.

“Really? I thought you hated working at the Ol’ Pickaxe?”

“Yeah, but I’m also experienced in hardware, so I’m more likely to start in a higher position here. We need as much of a boost as we can get to get you through that apprenticeship if you get it.”, explained Bea.

“Wow. I know you didn’t like it when I said this, but I really do think you’re badass. Like, you’ll go through anything to survive, even if you have to do a job you hate.”

“If that’s how you want to think about it, I guess you’re right. I am pretty badass.” It felt good to hear Mae compliment her like that. It made her feel like her life wasn’t a complete failure.

Finally, they got home, and they spent the rest of the day sitting on the couch in each other’s embrace, watching tv. All that was left was to wait for the employers to call back to set up interviews.

At around 6, Mae got a message on her laptop from Gregg.

_Hey, duder. I’m back from work, if you still wanted to talk._

Mae thought about it for a moment.

_“I made a lot of progress today.”_

_“You did throw a rock at that guy, though. That was really stupid.”_

_“I still might get a job! That’s a good thing!”_

_“That guy could have easily gotten you both arrested. You put Bea’s life at risk! Also, do you really think you’re good enough to get that job? Face it, you’re going to fail, and everything Bea’s doing for you will be for nothing. You’ll be stuck working at a fast food place again.”_

_Yeah, I could do with a good talk._

_Alright. I’ll meet you outside. We can go for a walk._

_Thanks._

_No problem._


	7. A Much Needed Talk

After messaging Gregg, Mae told Bea she was going to see him for a bit and would be back soon. Mae went outside and found Gregg there, waiting for her.

“Hey.”, greeted Gregg.

“Hey.”, Mae repeated back.

“So, let’s just go, I guess.” Gregg began walking, and Mae followed.

“Are we going anywhere specific?”, asked Mae.

“Nah. Just a walk. How’s the job hunt going?”

Mae placed her hands in her pockets. She wished she had brought a jacket. It was going to start snowing soon. Longest night was in a few weeks.

“Good. I might be able to get training as a construction worker.”

“Dude, that’s great!”

“Yeah. I need something that’s going to keep me active.”

“Only thing that sucks is you’re not going to get paid, right?”, Gregg pointed out.

“Not until I’m done with training, assuming I even get in in the first place, and that I’ll actually be good at the job.”, replied Mae.

“It was the same for me. You have to get training to be a bartender. That’s why I have Angus, though, and you have Bea now. They’ll be there to help you through it, and then, when you do get the job, you can pay them back. So, what’s been weighing on your mind? It seems like you’ve been fairly successful lately.”

They took a left turn at a street corner, “I just feel like, so much is changing, and so much is getting better, what if I mess it up like I did with college? It’s like every time I take a step forward, there’s always something there to tell me that I’m not good enough to make it.”

“Like I said, it sort of comes with being in love. The fact that you doubt yourself means that you care. There are times where you may hate yourself, but it never lasts, at least it shouldn’t, because you have someone there to pick you up and give you a reason to be a good person, and then, you’ll feel better about yourself. Honestly, you might want to talk about this more with Bea. Sure, I have more experience with it, but I feel like Bea is more likely to make you feel better.”, Gregg explained.

“Heh. Very well spoken. When did you go and get all philosophical on me?”

“Well, after this morning, you had me thinking about it again. I had all day to figure out how to explain it to you. Honestly, I’m sure Bea’s felt that way before, too. I know Angus has.”

_“Has Bea really felt that way before?”_ , Mae thought.

_“Of course, she has! She even told you herself, remember?”_

_“Oh yeah, the party.”_

_“The party that you ruined for her.”_

_“That was five years ago. I’m not like that anymore.”_

_“Are you sure?”_

_“I don’t know, maybe?”_

_“Stop lying to yourself.”_

“Mae? Mae, dude, are you there?”, asked Gregg. Mae had zoned out. Her vision seemed blurry. Had she been crying? She wiped at her face. Sure enough, there were wet streaks.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just kind of… zoned out for a bit.”

“What were you thinking about?”

“Just some stupid argument with myself.”

“One of those, huh?”

“Why am I like this? I shouldn’t be having these problems. I’m supposed to be an adult, and I felt like I was for a while, but now, I’m starting to doubt myself again.”

“I mean, as long as you don’t do anything stupid, you should be fine. Bea wouldn’t have agreed to date you if she didn’t like you. She’s not the type of person to do that.”, assured Gregg.

“But I do stupid stuff all the time! I couldn’t eat a few tacos with my friends without throwing up, I can’t be let anywhere near alcohol, and I thought it was a good idea to throw rocks at people to get their attention, all because I have no self-control. How did you do it, Gregg? How did you become an adult?”, asked Mae.

“Well, I try to keep Angus in mind anytime I want to do something stupid. He only gets mad at me for doing that stuff because he cares. Now that you have Bea, use her to keep you from being an idiot. When she’s not around, think about what she would tell you to do. That’s how I do it at least.”, explained Gregg.

Gregg was right. Mae had Bea now, at least for the time being, so that would be her compass.

“That’s actually pretty smart. Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Your welcome. What are best friends for? So, what was that about throwing rocks at people?”

“Oh, well, I threw a rock at the construction manager to get him to talk to me. Sure, it worked, but it was still really stupid in hindsight.”

“Hah! Wow, I can’t believe you actually did that. Yeah, it’s probably best to avoid being arrested for assault or something.”

“It’s done now, though. I’ll just try to not be an idiot in the future. So, how’s the marriage coming along?”

“We’re planning on getting everything set up after I get home. We’ll go do all the paperwork and set up a date. Then, we’ll start inviting people.”

“Okay, there’s me and Bea. There’s Jen and Angus’ brother. Wow, I haven’t met Angus’ brother before. What’s he like?”, asked Mae.

“He’s cool. He’s probably the only decent person in Angus’ family. Even if his mom would come, we wouldn’t invite her. That bitch doesn’t deserve to see her son get married.”

“What about your parents? I mean, I know you said they probably wouldn’t come, but they didn’t seem that bad.”

“We’ll probably invite them. We did grow apart a lot after the sheep incident, though. I would like to see them come, but I’m not counting on it.”

“Okay, so that’s six people. Do you have anyone else, like close friends, who might like to come?”

“I wish I could get in contact with Germ. What even happened to him after high school?”, wondered Gregg.

“He said he was going to college but never said which one. I tried to get it out of him, but he always managed to change the subject.”

“Huh, weird. Is there anyone you want to bring?”

“I wonder if my parents or aunt Molly would want to come. It is a pretty long way. Maybe, Lori could come. She seemed to get along with Angus really well.”

“The horror kid? How’s she doing?”

“Makin’ it big in Bright Harbor. She’s attending that one big art school. She’s a film major.”

“Cool. Yeah, I guess she could come if she wanted. As for your parents, they could come if they wanted, but the wedding itself will probably be short. We’re planning on partying afterwards, and I don’t know how they do with parties. We won’t stop them from coming, I just figured I’d warn you. We wouldn’t want them to come and not enjoy themselves.”

“I’m sure they’ll be fine. Besides, I promised I’d visit them soon, but they doubted me, and I won’t let them have the satisfaction of being right.”, said Mae.

“Alright. That would be potentially ten people. Do you think Bea will want to bring anyone?”

“I’ll check with her when we get home.”

“Well, I guess that means now. We’re back.” They had arrived at the front of their apartment building.

“Huh. That was fast.”, commented Mae.

“Apparently, time flies when you're dumping your emotions on people.”

“Thanks, really. I appreciate it.”

“No problem, duder. You were there when I was going through it. Think of it as me finally paying you back.” 

Gregg went and opened the door to the apartment building, allowing Mae to step in first. They walked up until they reached Mae’s room.

 

“Welp, goodbye, Gregg.”, said Mae, as she unlocked the door.

“Bye. If you ever want to talk or just do something fun, you can always count on me as long as I’m not at work.” Gregg began to continue upstairs.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”, said Mae, before Gregg completely disappeared from her view. Mae then entered her room and saw that Bea hadn’t moved from the couch since she left.

“Hey, Beabea. I’m back.”, said Mae.

“Hey. So, how was spending time with Gregg?”, asked Bea, who proceeded to close her laptop.

“Good.”

“What did you guys do? You weren’t gone for that long.”, questioned Bea.

“Oh, we just went for a walk, talked about some stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?”

Mae pondered whether she should tell Bea or not, and Gregg’s words flashed in her mind. Despite that, she couldn’t bring herself to unload that on Bea, not while they were still stressing about getting jobs.

“Well, we talked about the wedding. Gregg wanted to know if there was anyone you would want to come.” Mae felt bad for withholding the true purpose of the conversation from Bea, but at least this wasn’t _lying_ , right?

“Not particularly. I don’t have any close family left, and most of my friends don’t really know Gregg or Angus.”

“Well, then we’re at 10 people total, at least potentially.”

“10? Who else is coming?”, asked Bea.

“Me, you, Jen, Angus’ brother, Gregg’s parents maybe, my parents maybe, my aunt possibly, and Lori.”

“What about Germ?”

“Do you know what college he went to?”

Bea was about to answer when she realized she didn’t know. “Huh. Where _did_ he go?”

“Exactly! He never even told anyone! Did he, like, not like us or something?”

“Who knows? That kid was always eccentric.”

“Now, I don’t know what eccentric means, but he sure was weird at times.”

“That’s what eccentric means.”

“Oh.”

“Okay, so 10 people if everyone shows up, which, let’s be honest, a few of them probably aren’t gonna show.”

“Yep. 10 people. Not really too big, huh?”

“Nope.”

There was a lull in the conversation where neither Mae nor Bea had something to say.

“So, did you talk about anything else?”, asked Bea. She could tell Mae wasn’t telling her everything.

“Not really. We talked a bit about video games and stuff, but that’s about it.” That one was a lie, and Mae felt pangs of guilt for saying it.

Bea eyed Mae suspiciously for a moment but ultimately decided to give up. If Mae didn’t want to talk, she wouldn’t force her.

“Alright.”, said Bea.

“So, you wanna do something for a little bit longer before we head to bed?”

“We could finish another episode of this show I guess.”, offered Bea.

“Sure. That’s fine.”, agreed Mae.

The remainder of the night was spent watching a bit more on Bea’s laptop before heading off to bed. They needed to be awake at a decent hour in case they received callbacks from their employers.


	8. Preparations

The next few days were spent passing time, waiting for the chance to schedule an interview. One day, Mae had, through some incessant nagging, gotten Bea to try Demontower. At first, she had been demeaning and sarcastic toward it, but a few hours later, she was really into it.

Bea had reached the second-to-last level and was fighting the boss when the phone rang.

“I’ll get it. Just don’t lose again. I’d rather not be here for another hour waiting for you to beat this level.”, said Mae. She got up and went over to the phone, picking it up.

“Hello?”, she asked.

“Hello, is Margaret Borowski there?”, greeted the person on the other end.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Well, I’m calling about the apprenticeship you applied for.”

“Did I get it?”, Mae asked excitedly.

“We would like to schedule an interview with you.”

“Yes!”, exclaimed Mae.

“Damn it!”, yelled Bea in the background. She died again.

“What was that?”, asked the caller.

“Oh, that’s just my roommate. She’s playing this game, and I think she just died again.”

“Hm, okay. So, about an interview. Is there a time in the next few days that works for you?”

“Any day, really. We don’t have any big plans.”

“That’s good. Would tomorrow work?”

“Um, what time?”

“1 o’clock?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow then. Bye.”

“Goodbye.” Mae hung up the phone.

“Who was that?”, asked Bea.

“I got an interview!”

“That’s great! When is it?”

“Tomorrow at 1.”

Bea immediately looked panicked, “Tomorrow?! We still need to go buy dress clothes! We need to prepare what you’re going to say! It’s already 5! Why would you tell them tomorrow is okay?!”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t know!”

Bea sighed, “It’s fine, it’s fine. Okay, we’re going out now to get you some presentable clothes, and then, we can go over what you’re going to tell them in the interview.”

“But what about Demontower?”

“That’ll have to wait until tomorrow. We’ve got work to do. This isn’t like Taco Buck. They’re not just going to hire anybody. You need to make yourself desirable.”

“I’m desirable!”

“Not to them, you’re not. You’re already going to be at a disadvantage with your small size. You also don’t have any experience in this area. That means first impressions are out the window. Damn it! I thought we would have more time to prepare.” Bea already had her jacket on. It had started snowing. Winter was here.

Mae put her shoes and jacket on, following Bea as she hastily walked out, closing the door after Mae exited. She checked to make sure she had her wallet, and so did Mae. They went outside to Bea’s car. Bea didn’t even give Mae a chance to buckle in before she pulled out.

Bea found the nearest clothing store and took Mae inside. It didn’t take long for Bea to pick out some nice clothes for Mae. It was a simple, black work suit and pants. It blended well with Mae’s naturally near-black fur.

Overall, the trip took about twenty minutes. Bea had been pushing the speed limit the whole way there and back. That still left Bea with a couple of hours to coach Mae on how to act and what to say.

“Alright. I’m going to ask you a series of questions you should expect to be asked. I want you to answer them how you would answer them in the interview. Then, I’ll tell you what you’ll want to change.”, explained Bea.

“Okay, lay ‘em on me.”, replied Mae.

“We’ll start with probably the hardest one. What are your weaknesses?”

Mae found herself immediately caught off guard.

_“What are my weaknesses? I don’t know how to answer that!”_

_“Geez, the number of things you could list here is huge. Just think of how much is wrong with you. The hard part is trying not to run through the whole interview only answering this one question.”_

Mae laughed weakly, “Well, I mean, where do I start? I’m completely stupid. I couldn’t even make it more than two years in college before suffering a mental breakdown. I’m also the reckless idiot who’s probably going to get herself killed one of these days.” Bea cut Mae off.

“What the hell, Mae?”

“I’m sorry, did I screw up again?”

“Mae, you can’t let them know you’ve had serious mental problems. Also, don’t call yourself stupid and reckless. All of those things are going to get your resume thrown out immediately.”

“How am I supposed to answer them then?”, asked Mae.

“You have to be self-aware, but you also need to convey the fact that you’re improving and working to fix your weaknesses. Instead of saying ‘I’m completely stupid’, say ‘I can be a bit slow, but I also put forth the effort to compensate.’. Also, you’re not an idiot. You would have done a lot better in school and college if you weren’t dealing with dissociation. You’re a smart person, even if you are a bit reckless at times.”

“Thanks, Bea. Um, how about ‘I can be… impulsive at times, but I’ve been working to stabilize myself with my friends and family.’?”

“That’s good. Thinking like that should get you through that question just fine. Next, why did you choose to work here?”

“I hate sitting around at a counter serving tacos all day. I need something active.”

“Okay, I think we could add a bit more to that as well as shaving off a bit of excess information. Try to say something good about the company or the occupation itself, and cut out the part about not liking your previous job.”

Mae took a moment to ponder her answer, “Hmm. I want a job where I can be more active, and I feel that the construction industry will be a fulfilling area of work. You’re the reason this city exists. It’s people like you who built this place, and it’s people like you that will continue to help Bright Harbor grow. I want to be a part of that.”

“That was… actually pretty great. It’ll really go a long way to show that you can look at the big picture like that. It also shows that you have motivation outside of a paycheck. Okay, question 3. Why did you leave your previous job?”

Mae thought along the guidelines Bea had set for her. She wanted to get this first try. “Working at Taco Buck was only a way for me to support myself. Now that I’ve moved here, I want something more. This is a place where I think I can really make a difference.”

Bea nodded her head, “Good. More answers like that, and you should be good to go.”

The phone rang again. This time, Bea went to pick it up.

“Hello?… Yes, it is… Uh-huh… I can do tomorrow… Yeah, that works… Okay, bye.” Bea hung up the phone.

“Who was it?”, asked Mae.

“I got an interview at that hardware store. It’s tomorrow at 2:30.”

“But you just got mad at me for having mine tomorrow!”

“Yeah, because you don’t have experience when it comes to interviews. Trust me, if I’d sent you in there tomorrow with the responses you were giving me at first, your resume would have been thrown out the second you walked out of that building. I’ve been conducting interviews for years. I know what employers are looking for.”

“I guess you’re right. So, are we gonna keep going?”

“Yep. Question 4…” They proceeded to build Mae’s proficiency for answering questions in a way that will benefit her. About 3 hours later, Bea had gone through all of the questions she could think of multiple times.

“I think you’re ready.”, said Bea.

“Are you?”, asked Mae back.

“Yes.”

“Do you have a suit and stuff?”

“Yes. I already had one.”

“Okay… Wanna play some more Demontower?”

Bea smiled, “Sure. We still have some time.”

Bea managed to beat the game that night, but she didn’t get the good ending.

“What the hell kind of ending is that?”, asked Bea in frustration.

“Well, you didn’t get the true ending.”

“You never told me there was a true ending!”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to spoil it for you.”

Bea sighed heavily, “So, how do you get the true ending?”

“Remember that guy with the dots above his head?”

“Yeah.”

“Each time he appeared, one of the dots was filled in, and those gave you a code to put in on the way to the final boss in a side room. If you do that and heal the giant cat, you’ll get the true ending.”, Mae explained.

“Does that mean I have to play the whole game again?”

“You don’t have to. You could just look it up online.”

“No, no. I’ll play it again. Tomorrow, though.”

“Really?”, asked Mae excitedly.

“Yeah. I actually enjoyed it. We should really get to bed, though.”

Mae yawned, “Okay. Let’s go to bed.”

That night was full of stress for both Mae and Bea. They both had trouble getting to sleep. The upcoming interviews had them both worried. Bea hadn’t gotten any other callbacks, despite her work experience, and Mae didn’t have any experience to begin with. Tomorrow meant a lot. They couldn’t afford to screw up.

The next day, Mae woke up first, unlike most other mornings. She had woken from a stress-induced nightmare. In it, she went into the interview, and everything became shapes. She couldn’t stop herself from murdering everyone in the building in cold blood. When she left the building, Bea was there, surrounded by shapes. She was horrified. Mae tried to explain, but her voice wouldn’t work. Bea ran away, leaving Mae to be completely consumed by the shapes.

Mae felt tears on her cheeks from the dream.

_“What was that?”_ , she wondered.

Mae moving in bed prompted Bea to wake up. Mae panicked. She couldn’t let Bea see her crying, so she quickly got up and went to lay out some clothes.

“Mae? You’re up already?”, asked Bea.

“Yeah. I’m gonna go take a shower. I don’t care what you make for breakfast.” Mae quickly scrounged up some clothes that looked decent and went into the shower. Bea didn’t get the chance to see that Mae had been crying. She did find it odd that she left so fast, but she thought it must have just been her getting anxious about the interview.

As Mae showered, she thought about what would have caused a nightmare like that. Everything was fine. She made up with Andy. She had her friends with her, and she had Bea with her. She was always fine as long as they were there. Then, she realized. This would be the first time since she left home that she’d be alone. No Bea, no Gregg, no Angus, no home, nothing to hold on to.

“Come on, Mae. You’ll be fine. You need to be able to be by yourself sometimes.”, Mae muttered to herself. Wrapping up her shower, Mae checked to see that any signs of her crying in her sleep were gone. After that, she dried off and went out to get dressed in her room. Bea then entered the bathroom and closed the door.

The formal clothing Bea had bought for Mae were not comfortable. It was way too stiff for Mae’s tastes. Why did adulthood have to suck all of the fun out of life? First, they ruined cereal, and now, they’re ruining clothes! Despite this, Mae forced herself to hide her disdain for the new clothes for Bea’s sake.

When Bea got out of the shower, she looked at Mae and snickered, “Mae, did you just put the suit and nothing else?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, first of all, the interview isn’t for another couple of hours. Second, you’re supposed to wear something underneath it.”

“What? You mean I have to put it on all over again?! This thing is so annoying to get on, though.”, said Mae, annoyed.

“I mean, if you want to be super uncomfortable all day, you could not wear a shirt under that.”, replied Bea.

“I don’t think a shirt is going to fix how uncomfortable this is.”

“It’ll at least make it bearable. Trust me, I could tell from the forced smile you were giving me that you hated it. I understand how you feel. Sadly, it’s something we have to do.”

“Alright. Just get out so I can change.”

“Um, you do realize I need to change, too, right?”

Mae felt herself blush as it clicked that Bea was completely naked under the towel she had wrapped around her.

“U-uh, well, you can change in here if you want. I can just, uh, turn around so we don’t see each other and stuff.” Mae quickly turned around to hide the redness in her face.

Bea let out a chuckle, “Well, if you insist.”

Mae took off the suit she had on and put on a normal shirt on underneath, all while trying not to make a big deal out of the fact that Bea was standing behind her, naked. Eventually, they had finished, and Mae put off trying to put the suit back on until later.

Bea made breakfast, and Mae and she ate while going over how to answer the questions in the interview one more time. They ate, watched some stuff on Bea’s laptop, and got in some last-minute practice. Finally, it was time. Mae and Bea put on their suits and went out to Bea’s car. Mae’s interview was in one hour.


	9. The Interview

Bea drove Mae to her interview, and they were half an hour early. Bea sat with Mae in the waiting room, helping to calm her nerves.

“It’s going to be fine.”, assured Bea, “Just remember what we practiced. Keep a good posture. Try to look confident.”

“Why wasn’t getting into Taco Buck this difficult?”, asked Mae.

“Because Taco Buck is a fast food place. This is an actual job.”

“But it’s just an internship!”

“Yeah, it’s an internship. They still need to make sure you’re a good person for the job. Not just anyone can do construction, y’know.”

“Okay. Can we go over everything one more time?”, Mae requested.

“Oh? You’re actually _asking_ to do it again? Pinch me, I must be dreaming.”, replied Bea snidely.

Mae promptly pinched Bea.

“Ow! I didn’t actually mean it!”, chided Bea. Mae grinned at her with a smug look on her face.

“No, seriously, can we do this or not?”, requested Mae once more.

“Alright. I’m fine with it.”

The two spent the next half hour going over everything one last time. By this point, Mae had had all of the information she needed jammed into her head with a metaphorical sledgehammer. She was ready, or at least she hoped she was.

“Ms. Borowski?”, a woman called.

“Welp, I guess this is it.”, said Mae as she stood.

“You can do it. I really think you can.”, said Bea.

“Thanks, Beabea.”

“Go get ‘em, Maeday.”

Mae followed the lady, who Mae now saw was a crocodile like Bea, into the room. There was an elegant wooden table with fancy chairs on either side.

“You may take a seat.”, urged the woman who Mae guessed was the interviewer. Mae followed her lead and sat down in one of the chairs.

“Thank you so much for seeing me, ma’am. It means a lot that you would consider me for this job.”, said Mae.

“Please, call me Natalie.”

“Oh, uh, hi, Natalie.”

Natalie looked down at some papers in front of her, “I see your name is Margaret?”

“Y-yes, but most people call me Mae.” The interview hadn’t even started yet, and Mae was already stuttering.

“Mae, it is then. So, now that we’ve introduced ourselves, we can get started with the questions.”

“Okay.”, replied Mae with slightly more confidence than just before. She hoped that once the questions started, she would be able to recover from her anxiety.

The first few questions were normal. “Why do you want this job?”, “Why did you leave your old job?”, normal stuff like that. Mae was caught a bit off guard when Natalie pressed her on her answers, asking for more information, but Mae used what Bea had taught her to formulate answers that sounded good.

Then, she got the question she was most worried about.

“What would you consider to be your weaknesses?”

This was, by far, the one Bea had done with her the most. It was the one she had the most trouble coming up with. This was the only question that made Mae feel like she was lying. She had all of these underlying problems, but she couldn’t tell Natalie any of them.

“Sometimes, I can be a bit reckless.”, Mae began.

_“Reckless is an understatement.”_ , she thought.

“I have been working with my close friends and family to fix that, though.”

_“Why are you lying? Stop lying!”_

“In what ways would you consider yourself reckless?”, questioned Natalie.

_“Shit. Now, I actually have to lie.”_

“W-well, a couple of years ago, I wandered off into the woods by myself while I was seriously injured.”

“And why did you do that?”, pressed Natalie.

_“Great job. You can’t tell her about the cult. What are you going to do?”_

“I… I thought I saw a ghost in the woods.”

_“What the hell?! That’s probably worse, you effing moron!”_

“A… ghost?”

“Y-yeah! I was, like, going through some stuff at the time, and I thought I saw a ghost.”

“What kind of stuff?”

Mae was digging herself deeper and deeper into a pit of lies. Bea hadn’t prepared her for this. How could she? Mae felt herself growing ever-more anxious. Her palms were sweaty, her breathing was strained, she felt her eyes and ears occasionally twitch. Things were going bad fast. For a moment, she thought she saw… shapes.

“Uhhh, my parents were about to lose our house, and I was just really stressed about it. That’s why I got the job at the Taco Buck. I wanted to help.” Mae was surprised at her ability to think that up so quickly. It was probably because it was partially true. She did want to help her parents, and she did. That wasn’t the reason Mae thought she was seeing ghosts, though.

Luckily, Natalie bought it. “Oh, okay, so they were stress-induced?”

“I think so. I don’t see what else may have caused it.”

“Okay. That’s good to know.”

After that, Mae found she was able to recover throughout the rest of the interview. What little Mae saw of the shapes quickly disappeared as she became more comfortable with Natalie. The rest of the questions were normal with a few new ones thrown in, but Mae was able to formulate answers for those just fine. Finally, after about 45 minutes, the interview was over.

“Well, I think that’ll be all. Thank you for your time, Mae.”, said Natalie.

“No, no, thank _you_ , really.”, Mae replied.

“We will get back to you in the next few days to tell you if you got in or not.”

“Okay. Um, goodbye then.”

“Goodbye.”

Mae left the room, and she heard Natalie call out another name. She didn’t pay attention to who it was. She just wanted to get back to Bea.

“Hey, Mae. How did it go?”, asked Bea.

“I think it went well. You didn’t warn me that they would question my answers, though.”

“Well, the initial answers really are the most important. They work as a springboard into deeper conversations. They need to get to know you before they hire you.”, explained Bea.

“Okay. It’s over now, so whatever. I guess we should get to yours now, huh?”

“Yeah. Let’s go. Wanna grab some fast food on the way?”

“Yes. Give me food.” Bea stopped at a nearby burger place and ordered Mae a cheeseburger.

“Aren’t you gonna get anything?”, asked Mae.

“Nah. I can’t eat greasy food right now. I still have an interview to do, and I can’t let my suit get messy.”

“Right. Was this the only interview you got?”

“No, but I know I’ll be able to get this job, and it has the best income out of any of the jobs I had to choose from.”

“Oh. That makes sense.”

Mae ate her burger with ferocity. The stress of her interview had drained her and left her starving. Bea simply smiled and kept driving. Eventually, they got to the hardware store Bea had applied for.

“Okay, so would you rather stay in the car or go inside? I can leave the radio on for you if you want to stay here.”, asked Bea.

“I’ll go inside. I don’t mind waiting.”, replied Mae.

“Alright. I’m just warning you. It’ll be pretty boring.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Okay then.” Bea turned off the car and got out. Mae followed her inside. This place was much bigger than the Ol’ Pickaxe. There were so many types of tools and supplies. That’s not mentioning the nails. Oh, god, the different kinds of nails. There were so many. How did Bea manage to tell them all apart?

Bea asked a person working there where they were supposed to go for an interview, and they pointed her where they needed to go. Mae and Bea walked across the store until they found where Bea would be meeting for her interview. There was a modest waiting room as well, though there were no people inside.

When Bea and Mae entered the room, someone immediately came out of the interviewing room. This one was a male dog.

“Are you Beatrice?”

“Yes.”

“Please, come on in.”

Bea nodded and followed. The door shut behind her, and Mae was left alone. After only five minutes, Mae found herself incredibly bored. The uncomfortable suit wasn’t helping. Eventually, she fell asleep in the waiting room, only being woken up by a hard shaking from Bea.

“Mae, wake up.”

Mae sprung up, suddenly alert. She looked around a bit before seeing Bea.

“Huh? Did I fall asleep?”, wondered Mae as the sudden jolt of energy she had faded, leaving her tired.

“That’s what it seems like. I finished the interview, so we can go home now.”, said Bea.

“Okay.” Mae stood up, stretching as she did. Sleeping in a chair really did not do good things for your neck.

Mae and Bea walked back out to the car. They got in, and Bea started the engine.

“So, how did it go?”, asked Mae.

“Really well, I think.” Bea began driving.

“That’s good.”

“Yeah. If we both get these jobs, we should be set for a while.”

“You’re the one who’s actually getting paid for your job. I’m gonna have to work for, like, a year before I can actually get a paying job.”

“I think I can work for the both of us for a year.”

“So, how long does it usually take to know if we’re accepted or not?”

“For you, I’d probably expect to hear from them in the next day or two. For me, it’ll probably take about a week, since I’ll be starting higher up. After that, we’ll probably start our jobs the following Monday.”, explained Bea.

“What day is today?”, asked Mae.

“Today is Thursday.”

“Okay. So, I’ll start next Monday if I get the job?”

“Probably.”

“Cool.”

“Let’s just hope we got the jobs.”, said Bea.

“Yep. Let’s hope.”

They drove home, and Bea spent the rest of the day replaying Demontower while Mae watched, giving her pointers. Overall, it was a calm evening.

The same couldn’t be said for Gregg and Angus, though.

Gregg had finished his shift and returned home. He opened the door to his and Angus’ apartment.

“Cap’n, I’m home!”, called Gregg. He went into the living room and saw Angus sitting on the couch. The look on his face and the phone in his hand told him everything he needed to know.

“Oh, hi, Gregg.”, said Angus absently.

“Are you okay?”, asked Gregg. Angus looked like he was about to cry.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It was just my mother calling.”

“Does that mean you have to visit her again?”

Angus only nodded.

“Angus, please let me come with you. I want to be there for you.”

“No. You shouldn’t have to deal with her. She’s my problem.”, Angus argued.

Gregg went and sat next to Angus, “Come on. We’re about to get married. Whether I like it or not, she’s going to be my mother-in-law. I should really meet her.”

“Gregg, she can’t know about this.”, he pointed to the ring, “Especially if we’re not inviting her to see us get married.”

“Yeah, but still. You shouldn’t have to deal with her alone. I always hate it when I’m here, and you’re stuck there with her.”

“Gregg, please-“

“No. I’m coming with you, period.”

Angus stared at Gregg for a moment before sighing, “Thank you.”

“No problem. What kind of husband would I be if I didn’t help you through this?”

“I still can’t wear the ring, though. She can’t know, okay?”

“You got it. I won’t say a word. So, when are we leaving?”, asked Gregg.

“Tomorrow, right after work.”, answered Angus.

“Okay. How long will we be staying?”

“Probably the whole weekend.”

“Alright. So, now that that’s out of the way, what do you want to do tonight?”

“I was just gonna play some video games for a while, unless there’s something else you want to do.”

“Nah, I’ll just sit here and watch you. I’m tired.”

“Okay.”

Gregg spent the rest of the night nuzzled up against Angus, watching him play video games and cheering him on. It helped Angus to wind down after talking with his mother. Tomorrow, they would have to visit her, but at least Gregg would be there this time.


	10. Family Visit Pt.1

While Mae and Bea waited for the results of their interviews, Gregg and Angus prepared to go visit Angus’ mother. Gregg was nervous. He’d only ever seen her on the rare occasion that she would actually pick Angus up from cross-country. She also already knew about their relationship. He wasn’t at school for a few days after she found out, and Gregg had cried after he finally saw the dark purple bruises that could no longer be kept hidden and forced Angus to tell him what happened. He didn’t have anything else to base his image of her off of.

After work, Gregg and Angus packed some things before taking off. The car ride would be a few hours. Gregg mostly played on his phone for the duration of the ride. He did try to get some more information before meeting Angus’ mother for the first time, though.

“So, what’s she like now? I mean, she obviously can’t hurt you anymore, so what should I expect?”, questioned Gregg.

“Just because she can’t physically hurt me anymore doesn’t mean she can’t do it verbally.”, answered Angus.

“What?! What does she say to you?!”

“Well, she never stops trying to get me to break up with you and find a girl to love instead. That usually becomes the center of most of our arguments.”

“What the hell?! What gives her the right to say that?!”, yelled Gregg.

“It’s just how she is. Please, promise me you won’t explode at her.”

“I’ll try, but why do you even still visit her?”, asked Gregg.

“I mostly do it for my brother. If it were my choice, I would never speak to her again, but Matthew isn’t like that. He still cares about her, even after everything she did to us. I couldn’t let him deal with her alone.”, Angus explained.

“Yeah, Matt’s a cool guy. Bit too kind if you ask me, but hey, there are worse things to be.”

“Mhm.”

“Is there anything else you want to warn me about?”

“Just don’t bring up my childhood, and don’t blow up when she inevitably starts insulting us.”

“So, how bad are these insults?”

“On a bad day, she’ll start threatening to disown me or wishing you were dead.”

Gregg just stared at Angus in disgust. These weren’t things you told your son. How messed up was she?

“Look, all you need to know for now is that it can get pretty bad. Just try to act normal about it.”, said Angus.

“Normal? I think normal in this situation is punching her goddamn lights out.”

“Gregg, no. An assault charge is the last thing we need right now.”

Gregg groaned, “Why do laws have to stop us from giving horrible people what they deserve?”

“I don’t know. Now, can I trust you not to start a fight with my mother or not?”

“…Fine. I promise I won’t start anything with her.”

“Thank you.”

The rest of the drive was uneventful. Gregg and Angus talked about work and stuff, but nothing really interesting came up. They had also gotten dinner on the way. Angus knew his mother wouldn’t be feeding them. After about 3 hours, they arrived at the house of Angus’ mother. His brother, Matthew, was already standing out front. He looked a lot like Angus, only leaner and without the glasses or top hat.

“Hey, Matthew.”, greeted Angus.

“Hi, Angus.” He waved at Angus, but then, he saw who was in the passenger seat.

“Y-you brought Gregg?”, asked Matthew, suddenly nervous.

“Yeah. Is there something wrong?”, questioned Angus.

“Um, I don’t think mom will like that very much.”

“It’s fine. Gregg wanted to come. We are getting married.”

“You’re not going to tell her, are you? I get that you don’t want to invite her, but showing her before you two get married could be really bad. Showing her at all could be bad, but we can’t really avoid it forever.”

“Don’t worry. He promised not to tell her and to be on his best behavior. We’ll be fine.”, Angus assured, stepping out of his car. Gregg followed.

“Hey, Matt. Good to see you.”, said Gregg.

“Uh, same. So, are we going to go inside?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”, said Angus, leading the way to the front door. When they got there, Angus rang the doorbell.

“Coming!”, called a raspy voice from inside. Soon, the door opened, revealing the figure of an elderly bear.

“Hello, Angus, Matthew, and…”, her expression became scornful, “Oh, I see you brought _him_ , too.”

Gregg decided to attempt to start a peaceful conversation, “Uh, hi. I’m Gregg. I don’t think we’ve properly met before.” He extended his hand out. Angus’ mother scoffed.

“Yeah, yeah, I know who you are. Just come inside. Make yourself useful.” She walked back inside, but she seemed to have trouble walking without a cane. She was getting old.

“Here, mom. Let me help you.”, offered Matthew, as he went to support his mother out to the living room.

“Thank you, Matthew. You were always so kind and considerate.” Her tone was so unbelievably fake. Angus’ mother was a terrible actor.

Upon entering the house, Gregg discovered that it was extremely unkempt. The sink was piled high with dishes, the floors needed to be swept and mopped badly, and there were copious amounts of dust in all corners of the house. Suddenly, the true reason Angus’ mother kept inviting her sons back became clear.

“She just brings you here to clean her house, doesn’t she?”, muttered Gregg.

“Mhm. Every time we come here, this place is a mess, and every time we leave, it’s almost spotless.”, replied Angus.

“That’s such bullshit.”

“Like I said, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my brother. I wouldn’t let him do this alone. Come on, let’s go out into the living room.” Angus began walking out of the kitchen and into the living room. Gregg followed.

When they got to the living room, they found that an argument had already started brewing.

“Mom, I really think we should get you in a nursing home.”, said Matthew.

“For the last time, I’m not some old, goddamn hag. I can take care of myself.”

“I know, but you can barely walk without a cane anymore. I’ve seen some of the nearby nursing homes. They’re really not that bad.”, argued Matthew.

“I said no! You don’t get to decide where I live!”

“I just want what’s best for you.”

“No, I am staying here, and that is final! Now, if all you’re going to do is harass me instead of being useful, you can just leave!”

Matthew finally decided to give up, “Sorry, mom. Would you like some help cleaning?”

“Yes, please. First, help me up to bed. After that, you can start in here. I have a hard time reaching some of the places where dust builds up. And you”, she pointed at Gregg, “If you’re going to stay here, you’re going to have to pull your weight. You can clean the kitchen. Angus, you can do the upstairs.”

“What? You want me to just clean for you?”, asked Gregg, who was quickly losing his cool.

“Gregg, just do it. She’s letting us stay here. And mom, I’m going to help Gregg in the kitchen. I’ll have him help me upstairs after.”, said Gregg.

“Angus, I told you to do the upstairs, and you will do as I ask, or I won’t let you two-“

“Mom, I’ll do the upstairs after I’m done helping Gregg.” Angus had raised his voice.

His mother glared at him, “…Fine. Do whatever you want.”

“Thank you.” Angus walked out into the kitchen with Gregg.

“Ungrateful brat.”, Angus’ mother muttered as they left.

Angus began cleaning dishes while Gregg swept the floor.

“How can your mom be such a bitch?”, asked Gregg.

“I don’t know. It’s just how she is.”, answered Angus.

“Like, why do we have to clean for her? At 10 o’clock at night, too. We’re her guests.”

“Like I said, I don’t know. Let’s just do it, get it over with, and go to sleep.”

Gregg sighed, “Fine. I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

With both of them working together, cleaning the kitchen only took about an hour and a half. Now, they had to clean the upstairs. Matthew had finished the living room and went to help Gregg and Angus upstairs. Because the upper floor wasn’t nearly as messy, it only took them another 20 minutes to finish. Then, it was time to go to bed.

There were 2 guest bedrooms. Matthew took one, and Angus and Gregg took the other. They slept well that night after being hard at work cleaning.

Gregg yawned as he got into bed with Angus, “G’night, cap’n.”

“Good night, bug. Sorry about today.”

“Eh, it’s fine. I wanted to be here. Let’s just get some sleep.”

“Okay.”, said Angus, drifting off to sleep soon after.

The next morning, Angus was woken by the alarm on his phone. He quickly turned it off and got up. He went to wake Gregg up.

“Gregg, hey, wake up.”

Gregg’s eyes fluttered open, “Oh, hey, Angus. Is it time to get up already?”

“Yeah. It’s already 10. We should get some breakfast.”

“Okay.” Gregg got up and went to get dressed. Angus checked to make sure he had his ring, and he did. He, too, got dressed and went downstairs.

When Gregg and Angus reached the kitchen, they saw Matthew with a box of doughnuts.

“Hey. I went out and got some doughnuts. Have some.”, offered Matthew.

“Thanks.”, said Gregg, happily partaking in a custard-filled doughnut.

“Thank you.”, said Angus after, taking a chocolate-glazed doughnut.

“So, is your mother up yet?”, asked Gregg as he ate.

“No. She doesn’t usually get up until around noon.”, replied Matthew.

“Oh, okay. What do you usually do until then?”

“We just sit around, talk, and finish up any work we might still need to do. There is still the basement.”

“You mean there’s more?”, bemoaned Gregg.

“Yeah. It’s just the basement, though. With the three of us, it should only take a few minutes. She almost never goes down there.”

Gregg finished his doughnut, “Fine. Let’s do this.”

Cleaning the basement was as easy as bringing up a bunch of bags full of garbage or bottles and cans and throwing them outside in the trashcan or recycling bin.

“Okay. That wasn’t too bad.”, said Gregg, “So, what now?”

“Now, we just wait for mom to get up, and we try not to start any big arguments until tomorrow. Then, we can go home.”, answered Angus.

“Why do I feel like it’s not going to happen that way?”, asked Matthew.

“Probably because it never goes that way. She always finds a way to start something.”, replied Angus.

“Well, let’s just hope it’s different this time.”

“Yep.”

The next two hours or so were spent talking about how life was going. How were their jobs, how’s the marriage coming along, stuff like that. Finally, at around 12:30. Angus’ mother could be heard slowly making her way down the stairs. Angus braced himself for what he knew would be a long day.


	11. Family Visit Pt.2

When Angus’ mother woke up, she came out into the kitchen, where Angus and the others were eating at the kitchen counter.

“Hey, mom. Uh, I got some doughnuts. Do you want some?”, offered Matthew.

“Sure. They’re not really my favorite, but they’ll do, I guess.” She sat down at the table, partaking in a doughnut. The table was silent for a moment until Matthew tried to start a conversation.

“So, we cleaned everything for you, even the basement.”

“Good.”

“Um, is there anything else you need help with?”, asked Matthew.

“Nothing more cleaning-wise, but you could always help me with some other things, like cooking. I’m also running a bit low on groceries if you wouldn’t mind grabbing some.”

“Gregg and I can go get groceries. Is there anything specific you want for lunch or dinner?”, asked Angus.

“No. Just make sure it tastes good. Here’s a grocery list.”

Angus nodded and finished his doughnut, grabbing the list and putting on his shoes and jacket.

“Alright. I guess I’ll go get the groceries now. Come on, Gregg.”

Gregg quickly finished his doughnut, “Okay, I’m coming.

“Bye, Angus.”, said Matthew, as they left.

“Bye.” Angus closed the door. Gregg and he walked to the car and got in.

“She makes you shop for groceries, too?”, questioned Gregg.

“Yeah. She hates going out to get groceries. My dad always did it before he left.”, explained Angus.

“I don’t know how you can deal with her every time you come here.”

“It’s not easy. Why do you think I get so down whenever she calls?”

“I just thought it was the bad memories.”

“It’s that, too, but it’s mostly the fact that she still abuses us, even if she isn’t throwing us in the pantry.”

“That sucks. Matt was talking about getting her in a nursing home, though.”

“She’ll never do it, not willingly at least. She’ll probably try to force one of us to take care of her. I just hope Matthew doesn’t allow it. I certainly won’t.”

“Yeah. So, how long is this grocery list?”, asked Gregg.

Angus handed it to him. It was multiple pages long.

“Holy shit! How many groceries does she need?”

“Enough to last until our next visit.”, replied Angus.

Gregg moaned, “This is going to take forever!”

“Yeah, it usually does. She can’t even be bothered to sort the items into what sections they’d be in, so we’ll either be reading through the list constantly or visiting places in the store multiple times.”

“This is such bullshit. She isn’t even happy to see you. She’s just happy to have free work done for her.”

“Well, at least you’re here this time.”

“Anything for you, cap’n.”

“Thank you, bug.”

The shopping trip took about three hours. By the time they got back, it was already 1:30.

Angus went and opened the front door, placing a doorstop in front of it.

“I’m back! Matthew, could you help me carry these in?”, requested Angus.

“Coming!”, called Matthew. He quickly went out, putting on his winter jacket before helping out with groceries. It had started snowing pretty badly before they returned.

Angus’ mother slowly walked out to meet Angus, “It’s about time you got back. It’s already 1:30.”

“Sorry, mom. I’ll start lunch right after I get all of these bags inside. I got the stuff to make a nice pizza if that’s fine with you.”, said Angus.

“That’s fine.”

“Woo! Angus’ pizza is the best!”, cheered Gregg. After Angus had learned how to make pizza, they had never been to a pizza place again.

“What would you all like on it?”, asked Angus.

“Just cheese and pepperoni, thanks.”, said Matthew.

“Just put cheese, peppers, onions, and mushrooms on mine.”, said Angus’ mother.

“Slap some cheese and pepperoni on there, some sausage, and definitely bacon!”

“Okay. Now, let me just finish getting the groceries in here, and I’ll get to work on making that.

Taking all of the groceries inside and putting them away took about half an hour. Finally, Angus could begin making lunch.

“Okay. Lunch will be about half an hour. The rest of you can just go sit in the living room or something while I cook.”, said Angus. Gregg went with Matthew and their mother out into the living room.

The three simply sat and watched tv in silence for about twenty minutes. Other than Matthew occasionally asking if his mother needed anything, there was no talking. They were watching a boring sitcom on the tv. It was Angus’ mother who broke the silence.

“So, you’re Angus’ boyfriend. Tell me, what do you want with him?”

“What do you mean?”, questioned Gregg.

“You know what I mean. Why are you really with him, and what did you do to turn him into a fucking queer?”

“I didn’t do anything. We just hung out a lot, and I asked him if we could start dating. I loved him. I still do.”, Gregg explained.

“That’s bullshit. No son of mine would ever be gay unless there was a reason. What did you do?”

“You want a reason? He loved me back. There are no other reasons. You don’t just turn someone gay.”

“That’s what they all say. ‘I didn’t choose to be gay.’ It’s all lies to make them look better. Men shouldn’t love other men, and women shouldn’t love other women. It’s disgusting.”

Gregg was becoming visibly angry, “What would you know about love?”

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

Gregg was about to answer when Angus called from the kitchen, “Lunch’s ready. It didn’t take as long as I thought.”

Gregg and Angus’ mother glared at each other for a moment before walking out into the dining room. Matthew let out a breath he had been holding during the confrontation. Things could have gotten a lot worse.

Everyone sat down at the table, and Angus served everyone a slice of pizza. Gregg ate his, but it did little to calm his raging emotions after his argument with Angus’ mother. Angus took notice of this.

“Is something wrong, Gregg?”, asked Angus.

“No, it’s nothing.”

Angus looked to his mother, then Matthew. Matthew tried his best to avoid locking eyes with Angus. Angus sighed and gave up, eating his slice of pizza. There was an awkward silence for a few moments, but Angus’ mother came and broke it again.

“The pizza isn’t bad, Angus. At least you learned how to do something useful.”

“Uh, thanks.” Angus decided to just take the backhanded compliment.

Angus’ mother continued, “It is a shame that it took you so long. You could have saved your dad and I a lot of trouble if you had decided not to be so useless as a kid.”

Angus kept a straight face, but Gregg’s eye was twitching. It was taking everything he had not to blow up at her.

“Unfortunately, after we housed you and fed you for almost 18 years, you had to go and turn into a goddamn queer.”

There it was. Gregg’s resolve to stay calm had all but shattered at this point.

“Mom, could we not do this in front of Gregg?”, requested Angus, seeing that his fiancé had almost reached his breaking point.

“Why shouldn’t we? He’s the person you’re going off and being a fucking degenerate with.”

Gregg was shaking. Angus knew he needed to stop this somehow, or someone could end up hurt.

“Mom, stop it.”

“Yeah, mom. There’s no reason to start a fight.”, added Matthew.

“No reason? Your brother is becoming a disgrace to our family!”

That was the last straw for Gregg. He stood up, “Angus is not a fucking disgrace!”

“Excuse me?”, asked Angus’ mother.

“You’re the disgrace to this family! Angus is the best thing to ever happen to your family, and you treat him like shit!”

Angus’ mother scoffed, “Angus, calm your delinquent boyfriend down now, or I will not allow him or you to come back here!”

Gregg was crying now, “No, I will not calm down! I am tired of having to come home to Angus almost crying whenever he gets a goddamn phone call from you!”

“Angus, is that true?”, asked his mother.

“Yes, yes it is!”, replied Gregg, “And now, I can see why! I would cry, too, if I had to visit someone who’s as big a piece of shit as you on a regular basis! He’s your guest, and you’re making him work and buy groceries for you! And then, you sit there and insult him after he cooked you a nice meal!”

“I am letting him stay in my house! I let him and his brother live in my house for 18 years! I think I deserve some repayment!”

“That’s bullshit! They deserve repayment after everything you did to them! You locked your own child in a goddamn pantry for days with no food! Do you know how many times he came to school with bruises on him?! Every day, and that was only after I found out you were doing this to him!”

“Children need to be disciplined! We couldn’t let our child be fucking gay!”

“You disgust me! Why can’t Angus be allowed to love who he wants?!”

“Because it’s not right! Two men shouldn’t love each other! It’s disgusting!”

“How could you know what love is when you can’t even give it to your own children?! That’s probably why your husband left you! You two never had any love in you to begin with!”

“Alright, that’s it! Get out, now, and never come back!”

Gregg stared at her for a moment, and he went to leave, “Fine. Have it your way.”

Angus got up to follow, “Gregg, wait.”

“Let him go, Angus. Don’t you see how disrespectful he is?”, asked his mother.

“No, I don’t. I’m going with him.”

“What?! How dare you?! You’re just going to leave your own mother?!”

“Yes.”, replied Angus coldly, as he started to walk away.

“How could you?! Why would you ever choose some degenerate like him over me?!”

“Because he’s going to be my husband!” Angus put on the ring in front of his mother.

“You… you son of a bitch! You didn’t even invite me?! How dare you?!”

“Everything Gregg said was true. You don’t deserve to see us get married. Also, I am a son of a bitch. I’m _your_ son.”

Angus’ mother was shocked into silence.

Angus turned to Matthew, “Matthew, I’m sorry. I’m not coming back here. I suggest you do the same.” Finally, Angus turned and followed Gregg out the door, slamming it behind him. He went to the car. Gregg was already inside. His eyes were still red from crying.

“Angus? What are you doing?”, asked Gregg as Angus entered the car.

“We’re going home. I’m done with her.” Angus started the car.

“Really? Like, for good?”

“Yeah. She doesn’t deserve me, and she definitely doesn’t deserve you.”

“Awww, thanks, cap’n.”

“No problem.”

“What about your brother, though?”, questioned Gregg. As he said this, Matthew walked outside. He gave Angus a smile and a nod as he walked by. He got in his own car and drove off.

“I think he’ll be just fine.”, said Angus.

“Huh. Do you think he was just coming here for you?”, asked Gregg.

“Maybe. I’ll have to ask him about it later. Let’s go home.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

“Thank you for that, Gregg. I really needed it.”

“No problem, cap’n. I’d do anything for you.”

Angus began driving. As they left, they saw Angus’ mother step outside and watch as they drove away. Angus smiled a genuine smile.

“I love you, bug.”

“I love you, too, cap’n.”


	12. First Day on the Job

Today was Monday, and it was also Mae’s first day as a construction worker. She had gotten the call on Saturday, right after Gregg and Angus got back from Angus’ mother’s house. They had congratulated each other on their accomplishments that weekend, and they even decided to have a small party in Gregg and Angus’ apartment to celebrate. It was just some pizza and video games, but it was still a good time. Now, it was time for Mae to start her new job.

That morning, Bea made Mae bacon and eggs. Bacon was Mae’s favorite breakfast food. It would have been her favorite food, period, were it not for the wonders of the world that were tacos and pizza. Nothing could beat tacos, but pizza was a close second with bacon trailing behind in third.

Other than the amazing breakfast, Bea decided to leave Mae with another gift to take with her. After driving Mae to work, she planted a small kiss on her cheek before she left. Mae was left almost completely red in the face.

“Good luck, Maeday. I hope everything goes well. Y’know, maybe we should plan a date sometime soon. We are ‘dating’, after all.”

“U-uh, yeah, s-sure. We can do that. Where do you wanna go?”, asked Mae.

“Eh, we’ll figure it out later. I’m still not entirely familiar with this city yet.”

“Oh, okay, that’s fine. Um, I guess I’ll get going now.”

“Okay, bye. Don’t do anything stupid, okay? No throwing rocks.”

“Hey, throwing that rock totally got me this job.”, Mae retorted.

“Uh-huh, sure. Just be safe, okay?”

“I will. Bye, Beabea.”, said Mae as she walked away.

“Bye. See you later.” Bea drove off, and Mae went to where she saw the other trainees lined up. There, he saw a familiar face.

“Hey, you! Uh, Harry? No, um, Henry? No, that’s not it.” Mae struggled to remember this person’s name.

“Mae? Oh, wow, they actually hired you.”, replied the bear.

“What’s that supposed to mean, uh…”

“Harvey. You were close.”

“Darn, I really was, wasn’t I?”

“You had the H at least.”

“Hey, I also had an A and an R, until I said Henry.”

Harvey chuckled, “Oh, here, take this.” He handed Mae a uniform, jacket, and construction hat, “I’ve got this one!” Some other people who also appeared to be there to train people gave him a nod before writing something on their clipboards.

“Oh, I’m with you? Nice. Will there be anyone else with us?”, asked Mae.

“We’ll each be getting groups of four. Expect that number to go down substantially, though. They do training in the winter to weed out the people not willing to work in extreme temperatures.”, Harvey explained.

“Oh. This’ll be easy. I used to run around in the snow without a coat all the time.”

“Well, you do get a jacket, so I’d suggest you wear it.”

“Can’t I just wear mine?”, asked Mae.

“The jacket I gave you is made for our other equipment to fit over top of it.”

“Oh, that makes sense. What do I do with this one, though?”

“Look, let me get some more people, and then, I’ll explain it to all of you.”

“Okay, that’s fine.”, said Mae. Harvey went over and talked to some of the other people who were there for the internship. Eventually, three more people went with him over to Mae. There was a bird, a raccoon, and a fox.

Harvey lined all four of them up and began talking, “Alright, I have chosen you four to supervise over the course of this internship. As you can tell, it is pretty cold out today. The weather is slated to get much worse over the next couple of weeks. We will be working on all of those bad days unless there is an emergency. If any of you find you can’t handle it out here, there is no shame in saying you aren’t prepared and dropping the internship. This is not an easy job, but if you can get past the physical labor and the weather, it can be a very fulfilling one but don’t feel the need to keep going if you find it isn’t for you. That’s what an internship is for, to train you, and to find who’s fit for the job. Am I understood?”

“Yes, sir!”, replied everyone at once.

Harvey laughed, “There’s no need to call me sir. I’m Harvey, for those of you who didn’t know. I look forward to seeing all of you in action. Now, if you’re ready, put on your work clothes, and let’s get started. As you can see, we’ve provided you with jackets. You must wear these ones because they are specifically made to accommodate the rest of your gear. After you’re done, meet me over by that pile of wooden boards. We’ll start off with helping the grunts carry some supplies across the site. I hope you’re all ready for some heavy lifting.”

The group relaxed a bit and began to put on their work jackets. Having to take off their own winter coats caused them all to begin shivering, but it settled down once the work coats were on.

“So, what are your names? Mine’s Jake.”, said the raccoon.

“I’m Gavin.”, said the bird.

“My name’s Julie. Nice to meet you.”, said the fox.

“And I’m Mae.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet all of you.” Jake extended his hand out, receiving a shake from everyone, “Now, who’s ready to get to work?”

Everyone nodded and walked toward the pile of wooden planks.

“Holy shit, these jackets are so bad. I’m still effing freezing.”, complained Gavin.

“Be glad you even have a jacket.”, replied Jake.

The four arrived next to Harvey, and he began to speak again, “Okay, your first job will be to move this pile of wood over to those workers on the other side of the complex.” He pointed to where a group of other workers was busy building what appeared to be a new business of some sort. It was too early right now to tell exactly what it was, though.

Harvey continued, “This will be a test of your physical endurance. If you can’t handle this, this job isn’t for you. Understood?”

Everyone nodded.

“Good, now get to work. I’ll be back in half an hour to check on your progress.” Harvey then turned around and left.

“So, how do we go about this?”, asked Julie.

“We just pick up as many as we can and haul them over to the other side of the complex.”, replied Gavin.

“No, we can’t overload ourselves right from the start. This isn’t a sprint. This pile is really large. If we try to carry as much as physically possible per run, we’re going to tire out before we finish. We should take amounts that we can manage without too much struggle, that way, it’ll feel almost like normal walking.”, argued Jake.

“Look, if you want to slack off and only carry a few at a time, that’s fine. I’ll show Harvey that I’m the best person to hire. Just you wait.” Gavin proceeded to pick up almost ten boards. He stumbled around, trying to keep them balanced. He then slowly began walking to the other side of the complex.

Jake sighed, “I don’t think he’s gonna make it. He’ll be out in a few hours, guaranteed.”

“That’s his problem then. We need to get going.”, urged Mae. She picked up two boards in each arm and began jogging very lightly. She knew she could keep up a light jog for quite a while. All of her running and jumping around in Possum Springs did wonders for her endurance. She had also helped Bea carry salt into the Ol’ Pickaxe on a few occasions, which helped her overall strength.

Mae was able to make three trips in the time it took Gavin to make one, and she was substantially less tired. Jake was the only one able to keep pace with her. Julie just didn’t seem as physically fit as the others were. She was fairly scrawny with little muscle mass to speak of.

Mae was able to make six trips of four boards each in half an hour. Jake was able to beat Mae with seven trips of four. Gavin made two trips of nine and seven boards respectively. Julie made four trips of four. Mae seemed the least tired out of everyone, though Jake wasn’t very tired either. Julie was breathing fairly heavily, and Gavin seemed like he could barely stand.

Harvey then returned to examine the state of everyone.

“Hm. It looks like you’ve made a very sizable dent in the pile. Another hour like that, and you should be good to go.”

“Another hour? Oh god.”, replied Gavin, panting.

“Tired already? We’ve still got a little while before break time. Once you finish transporting these boards, we’ll take a break, okay?”

“Yeah, sure.”, said Gavin.

“How about you, Julie? Think you can make it?”, asked Harvey.

“Yes, I can.”

“Good. Now, get back to work. I’ll give you another hour to finish up before I come back. Good luck.” Harvey left again.

Gavin’s breathing died down, and determination filled his eyes, “Alright, let’s get this done so we can take a break.” He went and somehow lifted up a dozen boards without dropping any of them. This time, he was slightly faster, but everyone could tell he was suffering for it. Jake simply shook his head and picked up some more boards. Mae and Julie followed.

About 45 minutes in, Gavin’s breathing was unbelievably heavy. Jake walked up beside him.

“Dude, you should slow down. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“Come on, we’re almost done. I can do this. I can do this. I-“ Gavin began coughing, and he dropped to the ground before throwing up. Jake dropped his boards and went to his side.

“Oh, my god, are you okay?”, asked Jake.

“Y-yeah. I’m fine.”

“I told you not to overwork yourself. Come on, let’s sit you down somewhere safe so you can rest.”

“No, we’re not done yet.”, replied Gavin weakly, as he stood on shaky legs. He gathered up his boards and trudged onward.

“Gavin, you can’t be serious. It’s fine to rest. You were just being a bit overzealous. You can just take it a bit easier next time.”

“No. I can still keep going. I’m getting this job.” He sped up his walk somehow.

“You can still get the job without working yourself to death!”

“That’s not true. You and Mae are better than me. I have to work harder to keep up with you.”

“Look, just because we may have more endurance than you, that doesn’t mean you can’t still be better than us at something else. Like, reading blueprints or operating machinery.”, assured Jake.

“I’m not good at either of those things. I’m not smart. I can lift a lot, but I have shit endurance. All I have is my will, and I’m not letting you take it from me!”

Jake pondered this for a moment before responding, “Fine, but I’m staying with you to make sure you don’t kill yourself.”

“Suit yourself.” For the next 15 minutes, Jake slowed down to Gavin’s pace. Thankfully, this didn’t cause the job to take too much more time. Somehow, Gavin was able to push through until the end. When they were finally done, he collapsed into a useless heap on the ground.

“Nice work. Looks like you got the job done in a very timely manner. I guess it’s time to take a break, so go ahead. You’ve earned it.”, announced Harvey.

Mae wiped the sweat from her forehead. She looked over at Jake and Gavin. They seemed to be pretty close for their first day on the job. Jake seemed to be explaining something to Gavin.

“So, when we get started again, I can give you some pointers on how to be as efficient as possible with your body’s energy, okay? I’m sure that with enough work, you’ll be caught up with us in no time.”, offered Jake to Gavin.

“Okay. Sure, I’d like that. Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Mae proceeded to eat a lunch she had brought with her. It was just a sandwich and some water, but it tasted good after the hard work she’d been doing. Then, Julie sat down beside her.

“Hey, Mae.”

“Hi, Julie. What’s up?”

“Nothing. Just wanted someone to talk to.”

“Well, I’m here. Talk away.”

“Um, I’m not really sure what to talk about.”

“Okay. Anything interesting going on in your life?”, asked Mae.

“Not really. Just this internship.”

“So, what do you want this job for?”

“Well, I guess I just wanted a fulfilling job that I could still make decent pay off of. I want to be able to support myself instead of having my boyfriend do it for me.”

“Huh. Same here. Only difference is I have a girlfriend.”

“Oh, cool. So, what made you choose construction?”, questioned Julie.

“I just wanted something active. I like the physical labor. I may not be smart, but I can certainly run and carry stuff. How about you?”

“Well, I used to work in an office, making sales calls. I hated it, though. I was actually really good at getting people to buy things, but I still despised it there. I needed a change of pace, so, with the approval of my boyfriend, I went to join this internship.”

“That’s really cool. Our goals and reasons are actually pretty similar.”

“Yeah, they are.”

“I think we can be good friends.”

“Me, too.”

“Good.”

“So… what now?”, asked Julie.

“I guess we just talk until break’s over.”

“Oh, okay.”

Before they knew it, the break was over, and they were back to the physical labor. Tomorrow, Harvey promised to begin actually teaching them things about construction, and that today was more of an introduction day than anything. Finally, at around 4 they were done for the day. The four said their goodbyes and parted ways. Mae was pleased with how this first day had gone. It filled her with hope for the future.


	13. First Date

Mae had gone through her first week of training with relative ease. They had started learning how to use the various tools of construction, and they started getting to do more than just carrying around supplies for people, but it was still what they mostly did. It was slow-going, but Mae found she actually kind of enjoyed it, so she could be a little patient.

After what Bea had said at the beginning of the week, Mae had decided to plan a date. She went and got some advice from Angus on where to have it, and he gave Mae a name that filled her with nostalgia. Pastabilities.

It was a Saturday evening when Mae decided to take Bea. She hadn’t told her the name of the place, only how to get there. As Bea pulled up, her face was filled with shock.

“No effing way. Pastabilities still exists?”

“Yeah!”, replied Mae, “I couldn’t believe it either. It’s not exactly high-class, but Angus told me their food’s gotten better. They stopped doing deliveries, though. He said they were trying to go for more of a restaurant feel.”

“We never got to go here together, did we? We never even ordered a pizza from here with you after you got back. By the time all of the cult stuff was over, they had already been replaced.”

“Well, now we’ll get to experience it together.”, said Mae.

“I mean, it was never really that good, but it just felt… like home. I wonder if the old owners are still here. They were a family-owned business.”

“Let’s find out! Come on!” Mae motioned for Bea to follow her inside. The two went in together, and they were surprised to find that Pastabilities had evolved in the past five years. Everything was different. Somehow, they managed to turn a small pizza and pasta place into a large, bustling diner.

“Holy shit. Everything’s changed.”, commented Bea.

“Yeah… it has.”, said Mae with a vacant tone and expression. Everything had changed. The old Pastabilities was gone.

Someone at the front desk walked over to them, “Welcome to Pastabilities, would you like a table for two?”

“Yes, please.”, said Bea.

“Okay, right this way.” Bea followed the employee, and Mae trailed behind. She looked all around her. Everything she remembered about Pastabilities wasn’t anywhere to be seen. All of those memories were just that. Memories. Nothing more.

Mae wasn’t sure why this felt so bad. It’s not like everything hasn’t been changing in her life recently. She moved, she was dating Bea, and she even got Gregg and Angus back. None of that elicited any major mood swings from her, but this was different.

“Alright, this will be your seat for tonight.” Mae was snapped out of her train of thought as they reached her seat.

“Thank you.”, replied Bea.

“Uh, thank you.”, added Mae.

“Your waiter will be with you in a moment. Please, enjoy your stay.”

After the person left, Mae and Bea were left alone. Mae desperately tried to block out the conflicting feelings she was getting from being here.

“So, we’re finally out on our first date.”, said Bea.

“Y-yeah.”, replied Mae, blushing.

“I still can’t believe we’re here, and not in Possum Springs. We’re here, and for the first time in years, I feel like I have a chance to be something. I still haven’t gotten around to thanking you for that yet.”

“Oh, yeah, no problem.”, responded Mae hastily. She couldn’t stop herself from looking around at the walls. These weren’t the same walls that she’d seen whenever she walked into Pastabilities all those years ago. It felt wrong.

“Are you okay?”, asked Bea.

“Yes, I’m fine, it’s nothing.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Bea was about to press harder when the waiter showed up.

“Hello, would you like anything to drink?”, he asked.

“I’ll just have a water.”, said Bea.

“And you, ma’am?”, asked the waiter to Mae.

“Oh, uh, j-just get me a water, too.” Now Bea knew something was up. Mae didn’t order water at a restaurant.

“And would you be ready to order?”, asked the waiter.

“Yes.”, answered Bea, “Just get us a small pizza.”

“Okay, I’ll have the waters to you momentarily.” The waiter then left.

“Really? Pizza? I never really thought of that as a normal date food.”, questioned Mae.

“Screw it. Normal is overrated. Now, Mae, I know something’s bothering you. Please tell me what it is.”

“I’m telling you, it’s nothing. Just first date jitters, that’s all.”

Bea stared Mae down. She knew Mae was lying. Finally, she sighed and backed off. Now wasn’t the time to start an argument. They were going to enjoy this date, and then, she would get answers.

Mae saw Bea stare at her. _“She doesn’t believe me.”_

_“Of course, she doesn’t. You’re a terrible liar.”_

_“I can’t tell her, though. It’s stupid. I’ll get over it. I have to be an adult now.”_

_“It’s never going to work.”_

_“Shut up!”_

Mae’s internal argument was cut off by two glasses of water being placed on the table.

“Thank you.”, said Bea.

“You’re welcome. The pizza will be ready in a few minutes.”

“Okay.” The waiter left again, leaving Mae and Bea to find a topic of conversation.

“So, how’s work been?”, asked Bea.

“Good. Nothing really interesting is going on right now, but my co-workers are cool.”, answered Mae.

“What are they like?”

“Well, Jake reminds me a lot of Cole. Really handsome and way too kind. He’s cool, though. Gavin is hotheaded and stubborn, but he has more drive than any of us. He definitely puts forth the most effort. Julie and I have been getting to know each other a bit better. We sort of share similar goals. She’s not particularly good at anything, but I still like talking to her, especially since Jake seems to be helping Gavin most of the time. They get along really well.”

Talking about her job made Mae feel a bit better. It just made her wonder, though. Why was a stupid restaurant affecting her so much, when such a drastic job change didn’t?

“Anyways, it’s pretty cool there. I could totally do this as a job.”, finished Mae, “So, you got the manager position?”

“Yes. Hopefully, my team isn’t full of idiots. That’s a manager’s worst nightmare. How can a manager get anything done if the workers can’t do their job correctly?”

“That would suck.”

“Tell me about it. There were a few really dumb people back at the Ol’ Pickaxe.”

“Like that pedophile guy?”, questioned Mae.

“No. He was actually one of my best workers. It’s why I never ended up firing him, even after my dad… went missing.” Bea was about to say he died, but then, she remembered what Mae had said on the trip over to Bright Harbor. She had to hope because that would mean he meant something.

“Right.”, replied Mae.

The sudden drop of heavy subject matter brought the conversation to a halt. Luckily, the food arrived just in time. It was just a small pizza with cheese and pepperoni on it.

“Enjoy your meal, ladies.”, said the waiter before walking away.

Mae stared down at the pizza. It looked different than the bad pizza she knew Pastabilities for.

“I hope they actually improved their pizza. From the looks of it, it isn’t as soggy as it used to be.”, commented Bea.

“Yeah.” Mae hesitantly picked up a slice. Bea was now getting worried. First, Mae only ordered water, and now, she looked like she wanted to throw up from even looking at the pizza.

“Mae, will you please tell me what’s wrong? I want to help you.”

“It’s nothing! I’m going to be fine!”, replied Mae a bit too loudly, “Let’s just enjoy this pizza and go home.”

Mae looked at the pizza some more. This was the only thing that could bring Mae back. It had to be bad. It _had_ to. Pastabilities had bad pizza. That’s how it’s always been. It couldn’t be good.

Taking a deep breath, Mae took a bite. The taste was delicious, and it disgusted her.

Bea had taken a bite, too, “Wow, this is actually really good. What do you think?”

“Yeah, it’s great.”, replied Mae absently. Bea just couldn’t wrap her head around what could be bothering Mae. What was it? It certainly wasn’t first date jitters. She knew she’d have to pry it out of her, and she knew that when she did, she wouldn’t want it to be in public.

The next time the waiter passed by, Bea called for him, “Can we pay now and leave?”

“Um, yes, you may. I actually have your receipt right here.” He handed it to Bea.

“Thank you.” Bea placed a generous amount of money with the receipt and packed up the pizza.

“What? You want to leave already?”, questioned Mae.

“Yeah. Something’s obviously bothering you. We can finish our date at home.”

“No, you don’t have to do that for me.”, argued Mae.

“I want to. Come on, let’s go.”

Mae hesitated for a moment before following Bea. They both got in Bea’s car, and Bea began driving them home. Mae felt horrible. She had just ruined their first date. How long would it take for Mae not to screw something up with Bea?

The car ride was completely silent. Mae knew that when they got home, Bea was going to interrogate her. She was right.

When Mae and Bea got inside. Bea threw the pizza on the counter and sat at the kitchen table, “Come on, sit down. I want to talk to you.”

Mae gulped before sitting down.

“Okay, Mae, I know something’s been going on with you. I can tell. I’m not stupid. I know that when you talked to Gregg, it was about more than just Angus and him getting married, and I also know that whatever was going on before wasn’t just ‘first date jitters’. You need to talk to me. This relationship isn’t going to work if you can’t trust me with your problems.”

“I’m telling you, it’s nothing. It’s just dumb stuff. You have enough going on. You don’t need to deal with my crap.”, replied Mae.

“It doesn’t matter how dumb you think it is. You still need to tell me. If you can’t tell me about your problems, how can I tell you about mine? If we’re serious about this,” She motioned between the two of them, “We can’t hide anything. I need to be able to trust you, and you need to be able to trust me. So, tell me what’s going on.”

Bea was right. Mae knew she was right. Finally, she decided to come out with it, “Pastabilities is gone.”

“What? Weren’t we just there?”, asked Bea.

“That’s not what I meant. I meant my Pastabilities is gone. Pastabilities isn’t some fancy restaurant with actually good food. It was a small, homey pizza shop that also sold pasta. All of that’s gone now.”

“Yeah, but aren’t you happy that they were able to get better?”

“Yeah, I am, but it’s like, what about all of my memories of that place? I remember being so sad when they closed down in Possum Springs, but then Taco Buck came along. It was different, but at least it wasn’t pretending to be a part of my childhood.”

“You still have the memories, though. I mean, I don’t see how this is more impactful than us moving.”, argued Bea.

“I don’t know, either. I think, maybe, it’s because… Possum Springs is still there. My home is still there. My parents are still there. Sure, I can’t see them, but at least I know they still exist. Pastabilities is just… gone. What’s the point of making memories if the things that make them just disappear?” 

Bea thought for a moment. They were treading into some very existentialist stuff. Angus would probably be better at having this conversation. He wasn’t the one here, though, so Bea just had to do her best.

“…Well, I think that’s the point. You make memories so that when things go away, at least you’ll remember them. Like, what you said about hope giving things meaning. I think we can apply that here, too. If you remember something that means it existed, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. That’s better than you not making the memories and not knowing it existed, right? What it’s like now doesn’t have to replace what it used to be. No one’s forcing this Pastabilities to be the one from your childhood. Sure, it’s sad that it’s gone, but at least you took something away from it before it went away.”

Mae let everything Bea told her sink in. As she did, she was finally able to construct a solid line between the old Pastabilities and the new one, between her memories and now. It didn’t stop her from feeling sad, but she didn’t despise the idea of going back there.

Bea was satisfied when she saw the change in Mae’s expression. There was still one more problem to face, though.

“Okay, I can tell that worked, thankfully. Now, Mae, about what you and Gregg talked about that day-“ There was a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it.”, Mae blurted out. Standing up, Mae was unbelievably thankful that she managed to get out of the upcoming conversation.

When Mae opened the door, it was Angus.

“Hey, big guy. What’s up?”, greeted Mae.

“Hi. Um, I just wanted to let you know that Gregg and I have a date set to get married.”

“Really? That’s great! When is it?”

“It’s next Saturday at 2:00 in the afternoon. I just wanted to let you know so you could invite your family and friends and stuff. Feel free to invite anyone. The more, the merrier. Do plan on partying afterward. Nothing special, just going out for some drinks at a nearby club.”

“Sounds great! Is that all?”

“Yeah, that’s all. I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing.”

“Okay. Bye.”

“Bye.” Angus left, and Mae closed the door. The break from the conversation with Bea was short-lived. She reluctantly went back and sat down.

“Alright, next Saturday. At least they made it on a weekend.”, said Bea, “Now, back to what I was saying earlier-“

“Bea, do we really have to do this tonight?”

“It’s gotta happen sometime.”

“Can we do it tomorrow then?”

Bea looked at Mae for a moment before sighing, “Fine, but you’re telling me tomorrow, and please, don’t try to bullshit me. I’m here for you, okay?”

“Yeah. I know.”

“So, what do you want to do for the rest of the night?”, asked Bea.

“How about we start with finishing our date?”

“Okay. Do you want me to warm up some pizza?”

“Yes.”


	14. Why Can't You Tell Me the Truth

Mae had spent most of the night following what happened at Pastabilities lying awake in bed. She knew that tomorrow, there would be no getting out of the inevitable conversation with Bea. If she told her she was still having problems with her self-image, what would happen? Would anything happen?

_“What if she tries to get you professional help?”_

_“No, I can’t do more therapy.”_

_“Why not? God knows you need it. I mean, who else has conversations about how much they hate themselves on a regular basis?”_

_“Gregg.”_

_“You’re different, though. Gregg said himself that he’s gotten better. You, on the other hand, have been doing this since high-school, and it hasn’t gotten better, and that’s not even mentioning the shapes.”_

_“I’m fine. The shapes haven’t bothered me for a while. I don’t need another Dr. Hank.”_

_“Whatever you say. I guess we’ll see how it goes with Bea in the morning.”_

_“Yeah.”_

It took Mae a few hours to fully fall asleep. Then, before she knew it, she was being shaken awake by Bea.

“Mae, wake up. It’s already noon. I made lunch.”

Mae felt exhausted despite it being noon. Slowly, she stood up.

“Alright. Just let me get dressed, and I’ll be right out.”, said Mae. She went and got dressed in some random clothes she had lying around. They really needed to do some laundry soon.

Mae went out into the kitchen, where Bea had served lunch. It was just some grilled cheese sandwiches. They also needed to go shopping.

Mae sat down and took a bite of her sandwich.

“You look tired. Did you sleep well last night?”, asked Bea.

“I slept fine.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.”

Mae and Bea continued eating. It was silent for a few moments. They both knew what was coming next.

Bea broke the silence, “Mae, are you ready to talk about whatever’s going on with you?”

Mae stopped chewing. What would she say? Could she really tell her about it? What if she left her? Who would want to date someone with as much wrong in their head as her?

“I-I… I don’t think I can.”

“Mae, whatever it is, I won’t be mad at you. I will be mad if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s nothing. The move has just been a bit jarring, that’s all.”

_“You idiot! What did you just do?!”_

“Goddamn it, Mae! You and I both know it’s more than that! I’m not fucking stupid!”

“I didn’t mean that. Look, this is my problem. You don’t need to worry about me.”, replied Mae frantically.

“Yes, I do! I do need to worry about you! You can’t just stop me from worrying about you! The only way for you to do that is to tell me what the hell is wrong!”

Mae whimpered slightly, her voice being reduced to almost a whisper, “I… can’t. I can’t do it.”

Bea growled in frustration, “Fine, don’t tell me. I’m going to go get some groceries. I’ll be back in a few hours.” Bea walked away, and a few moments later, Mae heard the door slam shut.

Mae buried her face in her hands.

“Fuck!”

A few moments later, there was a knock at the door.

“Mae? Bea? Are you in there?”, called the voice of Angus.

Mae looked over at the door, deciding whether to answer it or not. Ultimately, she decided to open it. She found that both Gregg and Angus were on the other side.

“Dude, is everything okay? You look like shit.”, asked Gregg.

“I’m fine.”

“That didn’t sound fine.”, said Angus, “What happened?”

“I’m just an effing idiot, that’s all.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”, asked Gregg.

“…I guess.”, replied Mae, letting Gregg and Angus inside.

Gregg and Angus sat on the couch, and Mae decided to sit on the floor, just like old times. It made her feel a bit better somehow.

“Okay, tell us what happened.”, said Angus.

Mae sighed and explained what the argument they were having was about.

“Dude, you still haven’t told her?”, questioned Gregg.

“Tell her what? What did you two talk about?”, asked Angus.

“Well, do you remember back when you would sometimes find me crying in the middle of the night, and I would tell myself I’m not a good person, and then you’d always hug me and make me feel better?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s happening to Mae right now.”

“I sort of figured there was something like that going on. I mean, you remember what she said at the party, right?”

“Yeah, but I thought it was just Mae being drunk. A lot of people get like that when they’re drunk.”

“If you knew this was happening, why didn’t you say anything?”, asked Mae.

“I thought I’d let Bea handle that one. I didn’t think it would take this long for you to say anything.”, explained Angus.

“Well, it’s been over a week, and she still doesn’t know. It’s just… what if she leaves me when she finds out?”

“Then you two aren’t compatible. If she isn’t willing to handle your problems with you, then it was never going to work between you. From the looks of it, though, she’s actively trying to fix problems she knows are there, which you should take as a good sign for your relationship. The only way that’s going to mean anything, however, is if your willing to let her help you.”

“I know. It’s just hard, though. I hate knowing that she’s going to have to deal with all of my problems when I can’t do anything to pay her back.”

“Mae, you pay her back by being with her and showing that you trust her not to leave you over something like that. What you’re doing now is only driving her away. If you’re serious about a relationship with Bea, then you can’t hide these things from her. It’s not healthy.”

“Dude, if you want, we can be here when you tell her.”, offered Gregg.

“No.”, replied Angus, “She has to do this herself.” He stared into Mae’s eyes with the utmost seriousness, “We’re going to leave. When Bea get’s back, you’re going to sit down and tell her everything you just told us. If you don’t, I’ll tell her myself. After that, I doubt you two will be together for much longer in this state. Do you understand?”

“Angus, you can’t just sabotage their relationship like that!”, argued Gregg.

“I’m not sabotaging it. I’m making sure the relationship doesn’t break them apart forever. It’s better to end a bad relationship early than to let it slowly eat away at you until one of you breaks. Now, I sincerely hope I won’t have to do that to you. Will I need to do that, Mae?”

Mae looked back and forth between Gregg and Angus before finally answering, “Fine. I’ll do it… Do you think I’m gonna have to go to therapy again?”

“I think you’ll be fine. I’m fine now, for the most part. Just let Bea handle it whenever it happens to come up. Also, don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get an opportunity in the future to be there for her when she needs it. She’s been through a lot, just like the rest of us.”, said Gregg.

“Okay. If that’s settled, I think we should go. Think about what you’re going to say to Bea.” Angus stood to leave, and Gregg followed. Gregg waved to Mae as the door to the apartment closed. She was once again left alone with her thoughts.

_“I can fix this. Bea will be back from buying groceries in a couple of hours.”_

_“What are you going to say that won’t just sound like some edgy, hormonal teen shit?”_

_“I don’t know. I think I’ll just wing it.”_

_“Right. That always works out. You’ll probably just sound like an immature moron again.”_

_“I’ll just use the talking skills Bea taught me for the interview.”_

_“Oh, hell no. Passing an interview and dumping out your deep insecurities are two completely different things. If you try that shit, you might as well consider the relationship over. Bullshitting your way through this will screw everything up even more than it already is. Don’t do it.”_

_“What should I do then?”_

_“How about we start with some laundry? You can start pulling your weight around here. Even if you can’t make money, you can at least do some chores.”_

_“Fine. I’ll do the laundry.”_

Mae gathered up all of the strewn about clothes she could find, putting them all in a basket before heading downstairs. There were a washer and dryer in the basement. The work managed to take Mae’s mind off of Bea for a little while.

While the clothes were in the wash, Mae decided to do the dishes as well. Anything to occupy herself while anxiously waiting. Eventually, the dishes were done, and Mae had the clothes in the drier. She picked up around the house. Finally, the house was clean, and it was time to put away the clothes.

Once the clothes were put away in their closet, Mae tried to think of something else to do. The laundry hadn’t taken too long, only about an hour. She knew Bea probably wouldn’t be back for a while.

“What do I do?”, she mumbled to herself. Then, she heard her door unlocking. Was Bea back already? How did she get everything so fast?

Mae went to the door to find that it was, indeed, Bea. She didn’t have too many groceries, though. She didn’t even need to make a second trip, though she was carrying a lot of stuff in each hand.

“Bea? What are you doing back so early? I thought it would take a lot longer.”, questioned Mae.

Bea put all of the bags down, “Part of me was really hoping you were ready to talk, so I only got what we needed and came back.”

“Oh, uh, yeah…”

“I see you did some cleaning while I was gone. Thanks.”

“No problem. So…”

“Hold on, let’s sit down first. Do you want to sit at the couch or the table?”, asked Bea.

“Couch.” Mae and Bea went and sat on the couch, turning to face each other.

“Okay, tell me what happened earlier. What’s going on with you?”

“Well, I guess I was just afraid to tell you. I didn’t want you to leave me.”

“Is this something I would leave over?”, asked Bea.

“I don’t know.”

“Well, tell me, and we’ll find out.”

“…Okay, like, do you remember back at the Moonlit Wonder or whatever when I was really drunk and saying things?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“So, when I was rambling and stuff, I know I sort of confessed to you, but I also said some other things, too, and they may not have been completely from the alcohol.”

“So, what you’re saying is you’re the next Gregg. Is that what I should be getting from this?”

Mae stared at Bea, surprised she was able to make the connection so quickly. She was valedictorian for a reason.

“Gregg isn’t the only person who has ever hated themselves before.”, said Mae.

“Yeah, but he was always the most open about it, relatively speaking. I mean, I’ve hated myself before, but it never really became more than a phase. How long has it been going on?”

“It started with the softball incident.”

“How bad is it?”

“I feel like I’m always arguing with myself over everything and telling myself I’m not good enough. It’s also, like, because I have these voices in my head, it makes me feel even worse just for having them. I don’t want to be a burden on anyone because I can’t stop having mental problems.”

“Maybe, we should get a therapist.”

“No! Please! I can’t do another Dr. Hank!”

“Not all therapists are bad, Mae.”, argued Bea.

“What about Gregg? He’s fine now. He dealt with it by himself. He never saw a therapist.”

“Gregg has bipolar disorder, and it’s fairly minor. It makes sense that he’d feel like that. He dealt with it because Angus could help him. I just… don’t know if I can help you like he could with Gregg.”

“Sure, you can! You’re always the person who calms me down whenever I decide to have a mental breakdown.”, said Mae.

“Yeah, but I don’t know how to get rid of it. I couldn’t help my dad, so why would I be able to help you?”

“Well, could you at least try? Just be here with me. That’s all I need right now.”

Bea sighed, “Fine. If it keeps going on, though, you’re seeing a therapist. Also, please don’t hide something dumb like that from me again. I was worried. Don’t make me worry more than I need to.”

“I’m sorry. I wish I could do something to repay you.”

“You can do two things. Don’t do anything stupid and don’t hide things from me. Deal?”

“Deal.”


	15. Hammers and Nails

Today was Bea’s first day at her new job. After finally coaxing Mae’s problems out of her, she felt much better about going to work that day. It would still suck, but at least she didn’t need to worry as much.

After dropping Mae off at her job, Bea drove to hers. She would be working in another hardware store, once again as a manager, but it was okay. She’d actually have a large enough workforce to support her this time, and she wouldn’t need to worry about owning the store. She had to be optimistic about it.

Bea walked through the automatic doors of the store, taking in her surroundings. This is where she’d be working for the foreseeable future, and overall, it wasn’t too bad. The inside of the store was a mix of very light browns and beige. It almost gave off a wooden kind of feel. Everything was neatly organized and clean. To Bea, this was a big upgrade from the old days of barely being able to keep up with cleaning and sorting everything.

“Hello. Are you Beatrice?”, called a voice from Bea’s side. She turned to see who she assumed was her boss walking toward her.

“Yes, that’s me.”, answered Bea.

“Good. Welcome. I understand you’re the new manager, is that right?”

“Yes.”

“Great. I’m the district manager for this area. I monitor all of the stores in the area to make sure they’re running as expected. The name’s Howard.”

“Nice to meet you, Howard.”

“Okay. Now, we should get you acquainted with the other workers here. Does that sound good?”, asked Howard.

“Sure. Lead the way.”, replied Bea.

Howard led Bea over to the cash register, “This is Tod. He’s our cashier.”

“Oh, are you the new manager?”, asked Tod.

“Yes. I’m Beatrice. I prefer Bea, though.”

“You got it, Bea. See you around.”

“Yep.”, replied Bea as Howard led her over to who appeared to be the janitor. He was sweeping the floor of some wood shavings when Bea went to introduce herself.

“Hello?”

The janitor looked up. He was wearing headphones. Removing them, he replied, “Hello. What can I do for ya?”

“I’m the new store manager. My name is Beatrice, but you can call me Bea.”

“Well, it’s good to meet you. As you can already tell, I’m the janitor. Name’s Ron.”

“Alright, um, I still have to meet all of the other employees, so I guess I’ll see you later.”

“Okay. Bye.”, said Ron, putting his headphones back on.

As Bea and Howard walked along, Bea turned to Howard, “You know, I’m actually surprised that you just had the manager position open. What happened to the last one?” Immediately after she asked that, they heard some yelling coming from one of the aisles further down. They rushed to see what it was, finding two people arguing over something.

“I’m the shelf stocker, so I should know where these nails go!”

“Yes, and I have a diagram of where all of the parts go, and it says they go over here!”

“You’re holding it upside-down!”

“As the assistant manager, I think you should watch your tone. I will not accept this insubordination.”

The other man scoffed, “Okay, so now that you know I’m right, you’re going to pull out the assistant manager card on me, is that it?”

“Don’t backtalk me! You are replaceable, and I will fire you if you continue.”

“Alright then, I’ll just put these nails where you told me, but I better not hear you complaining when someone comes to get nails and they’re in the wrong spot.”, replied the shelf stocker in a venomous tone.

“Good. Do know that this argument will still count against you. You should learn to respect your superiors.”

Bea felt herself screaming internally. Of course, there was a reason there wasn’t a manager, and she just found it. Howard seemed similarly horrified.

“Nevermind the question.”, said Bea, “I think I get it.”

“Yeah, I’ll tell you about that after she leaves. I can’t let her hear me talk about her. I’d lose my job.”

“What makes her so special?”, asked Bea.

“Not here. Meet me in the back office after you’ve introduced yourself.”

The assistant manager walked over to Bea after dealing with the shelf stocker, “Hello, Howard. Who’s this?” Her voice was overly kind. Bea recognized the tone from the times she talked to Angus’ mother. It was fake, only there for show.

“Uh, this is the new manager, Bea.”, replied Howard nervously.

“Hello.”, said Bea, extending her hand out.

She accepted it, “Hi! I’m Jenny! I’m glad you’re here. This place can be hard to manage without some extra help.”

“Yeah.”, replied Bea. She glanced over to Howard, who promptly spoke.

“Oh, uh, well, I was just showing Bea around to meet all of the employees. I’ll just finish up with her and then bring her back here. Does that sound good?”

“Yep, sounds good. I’m looking forward to working with you. See you soon.”, said Jenny, turning around and walking away. It was almost as if the argument from before hadn’t even happened.

As Jenny rounded a corner, Howard led Bea to the building’s main office.

“Okay, I need to let you in on some things.”

“You think?”, replied Bea sarcastically.

“Yes. Um, so, Jenny, she… you can’t really do anything to her.”, said Howard.

“Why not? I’m the manager. I should be at a higher position than her. Also, I have to wonder why she isn’t manager. It would make more sense for me to be the assistant manager under her, not that I want that.”

“Well, the thing is, I don’t want her to even be working here, but her dad works higher up in the company. If I fire her, I’ll get fired, and she’ll just be given the job back. The same goes for you and anyone else who makes her angry. I wouldn’t be surprised if that shelf stocker is gone within the next few days. Also, as for why she’s not manager, I couldn’t let her have that position. I was somehow able to convince her to take the assistant manager position by offering her a higher starting wage than normal.”, explained Howard.

“Shit. There’s nothing worse than having an asshole with connections to your company. I can’t really think of any way to get rid of her save getting her arrested, but if her dad is a higher-up, then he’ll probably just pay the bail and put her back here. Maybe I could try to reason with her?”

“You saw how that went before, didn’t you? She’s delusional! Whenever she gets proven wrong, she just pulls out her position to shut the workers up. It’s insane! If you value this job, just go along with what she says.”

“I…” Bea thought for a moment. She needed this job. She needed to be able to support herself and Mae, and to do that, she needed this position. “Fine. I’ll work with her.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry you have to deal with this. Also, I need to get going soon. You’ll probably meet the rest of the workers as you go around the store. I wish I could stay and help you, but I still have a job to do.”, said Howard.

“It’s fine. I understand. We all have responsibilities. You can go. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay. I’m going to go now. You know how to be a manager, right?”

“Yeah, I know what I’m doing.”

“Alright. There’s a map of the place on the wall there along with all of the papers you’ll need to keep track of things on. Good luck with everything and thank you for not leaving immediately.”

“No problem. Good luck to you, too.” Bea waved Howard off as he left. After he was gone, she grabbed the stuff he had mentioned and walked off. She’d start with scouting out the store for problems and checking on the workers. It wasn’t long before she ran into another argument. It was once again between Jenny and the shelf stocker.

“No, please, I need this job! I need to pay rent this week! If I don’t, we’ll be kicked out! I can’t do that to my kids! They need a home!”

“I’m sorry, but if you can’t do your job right, then I’m sure someone else can.”

“I _did_ do my job right! I did everything that you asked!”, argued the shelf stocker.

“Then why did I just get a complaint that the nails were in the box marked screws?”

“That’s where you told me to put them, like, 10 minutes ago!”

“You’re trying to blame _me_ for your mistake? Learn to show some respect.”

Bea decided to interject, “Woah, woah, what’s going on here?”

“She’s trying to fire me for no reason! Please, you have to help me! I need this job!”, pleaded the shelf stocker.

“This man has proven to me that not only is he incompetent, but disrespectful as well. I have no choice but to fire him.”, replied Jenny.

“Well, you guys need to settle this now. The noise could become a disturbance to the customers.”, said Bea.

“Exactly. See, she gets me. You need to go, or I’ll be forced to call security on you.”, added Jenny.

“Okay, maybe we could calm down with the firing. I’m sure it was an honest mistake. Besides, he has a family. He’s only being disrespectful because he’s desperate. Let’s let him go with a warning. I think we’ve scared him enough.”, argued Bea.

Jenny gave Bea a cold stare for a moment before sighing, “Fine. He can keep his job. Just don’t let me catch you slipping up again, do you hear me?”

The shelf stocker nodded quickly, “Y-yes, ma’am! I won’t let it happen again!”

Jenny then walked away, leaving Bea and the shelf stocker alone.

After a few moments passed, the shelf stocker felt it was safe to speak again, “Thank you so much! I don’t know how to repay you!”

“No problem. I can already see how painful it must be to work with her. What’s your name?”

“Danny. So, you’re the new manager, huh?”

“Yep. I can see why the position was just left open.”

“Tell me about it.”, said Danny.

“Would you know of any way to get her out of here permanently?”, asked Bea, “It isn’t fair that she’s harassing her employees like this.”

“I have no clue. The only way to take her out would be to take out her dad. That’s easier said than done, though.”

“Hm, okay. I’m going to go get some more work done. I’ll try asking the others to see what they know about her dad. Do you know anything?”

“I wish I could help you, but I’m new here. Try asking the other workers, and good luck.”

Bea nodded and left. As she took care of her responsibilities, she slowly got around to talking to everyone about Jenny and her dad. All she could find out was that their last name was Young. Jenny Young. She couldn’t get her dad’s first name, but that would be easy enough to figure out with an internet search. She was going to fix this store. She had to.

Finally, the day was done. After doing one last check through the store, she and Jenny were ready to leave.

“Bye, Bea. I’ll see you tomorrow.”, Jenny said in that fake, cheerful voice of hers.

“Bye.”, replied Bea, as she got into her car and drove to pick up Mae. When she got there, she looked tired but satisfied.

Mae got in the car, “Hey, Bea. How was your first day of work?”

“It was something. There’s this bitch named Jenny who’s the assistant manager.”

“Woah, Bea. That’s pretty harsh for your first day.”

“Well, that’s what she is. She fires people for no reason, people who need these jobs to survive, and she’ll never get punished for it because her dad works higher up in the company than any of us.”, explained Bea.

“Are you going to do something about it?”

“I’m trying, but I don’t know what I can do without losing my job.”

“Who cares about that job. She needs to go.”

“Mae, we need this job. It’s the only way we’ll survive through this internship of yours. We can’t afford to be reckless. I’m doing what I can, but I doubt it’ll go anywhere.”

“Well, if you ever need someone beaten up or something, I’m here for you.”, assured Mae.

Bea giggled, “Thanks, but I don’t think we want that.”

“What? Come on. Smashing some faces in would totally get the message across.”

Bea reached over and patted Mae on the head, “I appreciate it, but I’d rather my favorite girlfriend not go to jail.”

Mae gasped, “I’m your favorite?”

“Well, you are my first girlfriend, so technically, yes.”

“Okay. What about compared to guys?”, asked Mae.

“Hmmmmmm… yeah.”

“That was an awfully long hmm. You’d better not be lying to me.”, warned Mae mockingly.

“Nah, I’m not lying… or am I?”

“Are you?”

“Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.”

“Bea, stop it.”, said Mae playfully.

“Alright. I’m not lying, and that’s the truth.”

“You really mean it?”

“Yes. It’s been rough, but I think we’re better for it. It would be nice to have a successful date together, though. The first one went downhill pretty fast, and the club was a disaster. I’d like to go out and just have a good time, no drama.”

“Well, maybe the party on Saturday will be fun.”

“Yeah. I’m glad to see them getting married.”

“Me, too.”, agreed Mae, “It’s gonna be so amazing when they’re finally together forever.”

“Yep. Just need to get through the week.”

“You can do it, Beabea. That girl’s got nothing on how badass you are.”

“Thanks, Maeday. I’ll do everything I can to make sure she’s gone. Then, we’ll really see how badass I am.”


	16. Wedding Pt.1

It was now Saturday, the day when Gregg and Angus were finally getting married. They had done all of the paperwork and invited everyone that may have wanted to come. Jen, Gregg’s cousin, promised she would be there. So would Matthew. Gregg’s parents agreed to come, and so did Mae’s. Aunt Molly and Lori agreed to come despite not being as close to Gregg and Angus. Sadly, no one knew Germ’s contact info.

Gregg was giddy with excitement. He was pacing back and forth in his and Angus’ apartment, waiting for when it was finally time. Angus was about to stop him, but to be honest, he was just as excited. Still, it was probably annoying the neighbors.

“Gregg, maybe you should sit down. The people below us are probably sick of this by now.” Angus placed a hand on the couch, motioning for Gregg to sit next to him.

“I know. It’s just, I’ve waited so long for this. I wish we could just do it now.”

“Me, too, but I’m sure there are plenty of other people waiting to get married just like us. We can’t just arrive ahead of schedule. It won’t be long now. Soon, we’ll leave to pick everyone up, and we’ll go wait for our turn.”

Gregg sat down with Angus and leaned up against him, “I love you, cap’n.”

“Love you, too, bug. Don’t worry. We’ll leave after I make breakfast.”

“What are you making?”, asked Gregg.

“Just some pancakes. I figured we’d leave the special food for later.”

“It’s fine. Your pancakes are great anyways.”

“Thank you.”

“Yep.”

Mae and Bea had left early to pick up Mae’s family. They knew it would be a long drive back to Possum Springs. They were currently on their way back to Bright Harbor. Mae was forced to sit between her parents in the back seat since she was so small, leaving Molly to sit in the front with Bea.

“So, are you guys ready for the best marriage ever?”, asked Mae.

“Those two were always so sweet together. I’ve been waiting for the day you’d tell us they were getting married.”, said Candy.

“Yeah. Angus was such a nice kid. I used to work with his dad back in the coal mines.”, added Stan, “He’ll be there, right?”

Bea’s grip tightened on the wheel, and Mae tried to say something, but nothing came out when she opened her mouth. Eventually, Bea answered for her.

“No. His parents won’t be coming.”

“What? What kind of parents don’t attend their own child’s wedding? Did something happen?”, asked Stan in shock.

“Angus’ dad left a long time ago. No one knows where he is.”, answered Mae.

“Well, what about his mother. Why isn’t she coming?”

“She wasn’t invited.”, said Bea with a noticeable venom in her voice.

“Why wouldn’t they invite her?”

“She wasn’t exactly the… best person.”, said Mae.

“If by ‘not the best person’, you meant a complete piece of shit, then yes, I would agree. The same goes for that sad excuse for a father he had. I’m glad he finally let that bitch go.” Bea was now visibly angry. Being best friends with Angus, it still angered her that they could ever do what they did to him.

“Bea, could you please not swear in front of my family?”, requested Mae.

“Why shouldn’t I? He was the one asking why his parents weren’t coming.”

“I’m confused. What exactly did they do?”

“I’d rather not say. Just know that they didn’t deserve to come, even if they wanted to.”, replied Bea. The car became silent.

“I’m sorry if I said something wrong.”, said Stan.

“No, you didn’t know. It’s just, thinking about them makes me angry. My dad wasn’t nearly as bad, and he completely broke down mentally. Let’s just talk about something else. They won’t be there, and that’s that.”

Mae was the next to speak, “So, Aunt Molly, why did you agree to come? I don’t think you know Gregg or Angus very well.”

Molly laughed, “Are you kidding? Do you remember how many times I had to stop you two from getting into trouble? Trust me, I know you and Gregg very well.”

“Okay, you know about our high school hijinks. You don’t know about Gregg. He’s more than that.”

“Oh, I’m sure he is. I’m just saying. I have plenty of memories with you two.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”, said Mae.

“Um, I was wondering something.”, started Candy.

“Yes?”, asked Mae.

“Well, you remember Mr. and Mrs. Hartley, right?”

“Yeah. What about them?”

“Well, I saw them in church a few days ago, and I decided to ask them if they wanted to come. Casey and them were close, right?”

Once again, the car went silent. Mae’s parents just couldn’t avoid stepping on bombshells, could they?

Finally, Mae answered, “Yeah, I’m sure they’ll really enjoy seeing them again.” She had never told her parents about Casey’s death or the cult. In fact, they never even got around to telling Casey’s parents, either.

“Okay, we’re almost there. Mae, do you have the directions Angus gave us?”, asked Bea.

“Yes. I’ve got them right here.”

Candy, Stan, and Molly looked out at Bright Harbor, their faces full of wonder.

“This is… amazing.”, said Candy, “I can’t believe you all made it here. Everything looks so alive.”

“It wasn’t easy, but we made it. We even have jobs now. Well, my job isn’t really a job yet, but it’ll get there.”

“Really? Where do you work?”, asked Stan.

“I work with the city’s construction company. I’m doing an internship there now.”

“Wow. You’re not working in fast food anymore. That’s great!”

“Congratulations, kitten.”, added Candy.

“Yeah. Honestly, I’m surprised you made it this far without being arrested.”, joked Molly.

“Trust me, she’s still caused lots of trouble.”, said Bea.

“Oh, come on. I only threw a rock at that guy to get his attention.”

“What about back at the club, or what about the date?”

“Date?!”, exclaimed Candy, Stan, and Molly all at the same time.

“Who is it?”, asked Candy.

“Will we get to meet them?”, questioned Stan.

Mae and Bea both blushed, and Mae tried to avoid Bea’s eyes in the mirror.

“No way.”, said Molly.

“What?”, asked Candy.

“It’s Bea. She’s dating Bea. I can tell just by looking at their faces.”

Mae and Bea’s faces were even more consumed by red.

“Really?”, questioned Stan.

“Uh, yeah.”, replied Mae.

“That’s great!”

“You’re fine with it?”, asked Mae.

“Of course, sweetie. I mean, sure, we can’t have biological grandkids, but I’d rather you be with Bea than some random guy you met at a party or something.”, said Candy.

“Oh, okay. Well, that’s out of the way now. Um, do you need the directions yet, Bea?”

“Yes, could you start reading them?”

“Yep, I’m on it.” Mae began reading off the directions Angus gave them, and any conversation in the car ceased so Bea could focus on following them. Finally, they were at the courthouse where Angus and Gregg would be married. They saw Gregg, Angus, and Lori there already.

Everyone got out of the car.

“Hey, dudes. It’s almost time!”, greeted Gregg.

“Where are the others?”, asked Mae.

“Matthew is on his way.”, replied Angus.

“And Jen is picking up my parents.”, added Gregg.

“Cool. Um, just so you know, my mom invited… Casey’s parents to the wedding. Is that okay?”, asked Mae.

Gregg and Angus looked at each other, both now with sadness in their eyes. Gregg nodded, and then Angus.

“Yeah. It’s fine.”, Answered Gregg.

Mae nodded and looked at Lori, “So, you decided to come, huh?”

“Oh, y-yeah. I’ve kind of always wanted to go to a wedding, and this seemed like the next best thing. Thank you for inviting me.”

“Thank you for coming. Do you think you’re gonna cry?”, asked Mae.

“Maybe? I don’t know. I don’t think so. How about you?”

“Probably. I wonder if anyone else will cry. What do you think?”

“I guess we’ll see.”

After that, they saw three cars driving down the street, one containing Matthew, another Casey’s parents, and the last one Jen and Gregg’s parents. It felt so weird to see Gregg’s parents again. It had been years for Mae and Gregg. It brought back memories of when they first met, back when playdates were a normal thing to do, when “crimes” wouldn’t get you arrested, when they could just be kids. After they started hanging out in town instead of at each other’s houses, Mae almost never saw Gregg’s parents, yet here they were.

When everyone stepped out of the car, they began greeting everyone else. Angus said hi to his brother, Mae and her parents went to talk to Casey’s parents, and Gregg went over to Jen’s car.

“Hi Mr. and Mrs. Hartley. How are you?”, greeted Mae.

Casey’s mother smiled at Mae, but it seemed almost sad, “Hi, Mae. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah. How have you been?”

“We’ve been managing just fine. How about you?”, asked Casey’s father.

“Well, I live here now, so that’s a plus. Um, I have a girlfriend and a job in construction. I’d say I’m doing pretty well.”

“It’s weird to think about how you used to be the person everyone knew as a troublemaker. You, Gregg, and Casey… You were always together.”

“Yeah… I’m, uh, sorry about Casey.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m sure he’s doing fine. Who knows, maybe riding the rails is really fun.”

Mae felt a massive pang of guilt. They still didn’t know. They thought the same thing as everyone else, that Casey had hopped on a train to get out of Possum Springs.

Mae couldn’t think of a response to that, but luckily, her parents came in to save the day.

“Katie, Alex! Hi!”, called Candy, Stan following close behind her as they approached.

“Oh, hey. Good to see you.”, said Katie, Casey’s mother.

“Same here.”, added Alex, his dad.

“I’m glad you could make it.”, said Candy.

Mae sighed with relief. She wouldn’t have to lie to them. She decided to back off and let the two couples mingle.

Meanwhile, Gregg had gone to talk to his family.

“Hey, Jen. How’s it going?”, asked Gregg.

“Good. Today is going to be a good day. I’ve been waiting for this for years.”

“Welp, it’s finally here. Thanks for coming.”

“Don’t mention it.”, replied Jen. Then, Gregg’s mother and father stepped out of the car. Gregg stared at them nervously. He suddenly started having thoughts about how he hadn’t been there.

_“You haven’t talked to them in years. You’re a bad son. Angus has an excuse. His parents are trash. You don’t have any excuse.”_

Gregg quickly averted his eyes when his parents looked his way.

“H-hey, mom. Hey, dad.”

“Hi, Gregg! It’s so good to see you again!”, exclaimed his mother, who pulled him in for a hug, “Look at you. You’re all grown up now, and you’re getting married! It’s been so long!”

“Yeah, son, why haven’t you talked to us at all? You have our phone number, don’t you?”, asked his dad.

This wasn’t the greeting Gregg had expected. He was fully prepared for them both to be angry at him for not calling or visiting or distant after not having talked in so long, but they weren’t. His mother was hugging him, and neither of them seemed mad. They were happy to see him. He never realized how much he missed this until now.

Gregg already felt himself crying, “Mom… dad… I’m sorry. I should have talked to you more. I don’t know why I never tried to call. I just… I’m a horrible son. Here you are, hugging me after I haven’t even called you in years. I’m sorry.”

“Gregg… you’re not a horrible son. We made a lot of mistakes, and those are probably what drove us apart. We shouldn’t have tried to pawn you off on your uncle, and we should have been more accepting of, um, Angus.”, argued Gregg’s mother.

“No, no, you had every reason to want me gone. I was such an idiot as a kid. I still am. It’s my fault.”

“That doesn’t mean we should have tried to get rid of you. It’s because of that that you had to see those sheep get… killed.”, said his father.

“That was my fault, too. I’m the dumbass who opened the gate.”

“You were a kid. We’re all dumbasses when we’re kids. Besides, it was obvious you had some kind of… condition.”

“Bi-polar disorder.”, said Gregg.

“Oh, so you figured it out?”, asked his mother.

“Angus took me to a psychiatrist. He wanted to know why I was constantly having mood swings.”

“Okay, then we should have learned to deal with that. It wasn’t right to send you off like that, and honestly, we were just being asses when we tried to get you to stop dating Angus.”, said Gregg’s father.

“I guess… I still wish I’d talked to you more.”

“Well, how about we start today? We’ll go in, watch you two get married, party, and after that, you can call or visit whenever you want. Sound good?”, offered his mother.

“Yeah. Thank you for not hating me.”

“What kind of parents would we be if we hated you? If it ever seemed like that, we’re sorry.”

“So, are Angus’ parents here?”, asked Gregg’s dad.

Gregg ended the hug with his mother and looked at his dad, “They’re not here. Don’t ask. We’ll explain everything to you later.”

“If you say so.”

“Gregg, it’s almost time for us to go in. Let’s go to the waiting room.”, called Angus.

“Coming.” Gregg wiped his eyes, finding that the tears were almost frozen. It was awfully cold out. “Yeah, let’s get inside.”

“We’re right behind you.”, said his mother.

Everyone then entered the courthouse. The time was almost here. Gregg and Angus held each other’s hands in anticipation. Angus held a ring he had prepared to put on Gregg’s finger when the time came. It would never compare to the diamond one that Gregg had given him, as it was only made of gold, but he knew Gregg wouldn’t care, as long as they were together.

At that moment, a couple walked out of the courtroom along with a bunch of other people, many of them crying with joy.

“Greggory Lee and Angus Delaney, you and your witnesses may now enter.”, called someone from inside the room. Gregg and Angus looked into each other’s eyes, giving each other a nod before walking into the room.


	17. Wedding Pt.2

Gregg and Angus stepped into the room where they would be joined together ‘till death did them part. The rest of the group followed behind and went to sit while they walked up the aisle. There was a photographer standing next to the judge. Taking off their coats, Gregg and Angus were both wearing tuxedos. They stared into each other’s eyes as they stood in front of the judge.

“Okay, is this everyone?”, asked the judge.

“Yes.”, replied Angus.

“Then we can begin. May I have your marriage license?”

“Here.” Angus had brought it with him, and he gave it to the judge.

Looking through the papers, the judge nodded, “These seem to be in order. I’m going to need someone to come down and sign off as a witness. It can be anyone here.”

Gregg and Angus looked around at everyone. Eventually, they locked eyes with Mae.

“Mae. Do you wanna do it?”, asked Gregg.

“What? Me? No, I can’t. Why not your parents, or Jen, or Matthew, you know, family?”

“Eh. You’re probably the most neutral choice here. If we choose someone from either of our families, it’d feel like leaving the other out. Besides, you’re totally family to us.”, replied Gregg.

“What about Bea? She’s pretty neutral.”

“Mae, it’s fine. Just go do it. It’s not the end of the world if someone else doesn’t get to be their witness.”, said Bea.

Mae looked at Bea, then back at Gregg and Angus. She smiled, “Damn it, you’re gonna make me cry before you two even get married.”

Mae got up and walked to the front of the room. The judge handed her the paper she was supposed to sign and a pen. Mae took the pen and signed her signature as neatly as she could before handing it back.

Mae stepped back and looked at Gregg and Angus, “Thank you. I’m honored, really.”

“No problem. Thank you for signing us off.”, said Angus.

“You’re welcome.” Mae went and sat back down with Bea. On her other side, she could make out her mother and Casey’s mingling a bit.

“I remember when Casey came home the day they got together. He was so excited. I knew a lot of the other kids started bullying them, but Casey was always there for them. He did get into a lot of fights over it, though, but it was fine. He knew that it was for a good reason. I think that’s when we knew he would grow up to be a good person.”, whispered Katie.

“Mae was excited, too, and trust me, she would beat the crap out of some of the other students. Honestly, if they weren’t there, do you think they would have made through high school?”, asked Candy.

“Eh, I heard Gregg would fight anyone that messed with Angus. Casey told me that one time, he took on four people and won. Granted, the kids in question weren’t exactly very strong, but still. I think he’d do anything for Angus. I’m sure they’d be fine.”

“Yeah. Oh, look, it’s happening!” Candy pointed up to where the judge was ready to wed Gregg and Angus.

“Okay, everything seems to be in order. Now, I know you weren’t expecting this, but if you wanted to, you could exchange vows. Unfortunately, something came up with the next couple, and it was impossible for them to make it, so we have some extra time before we need to be done.”

Gregg and Angus were taken by surprise.

“Should we?”, asked Gregg, “We didn’t even prepare anything.”

“We could just wing it.”, said Angus.

“I don’t know. I don’t think my vows would be really good.”

“Come on. This is an opportunity that most of the other couples here aren’t going to get. Let’s take it. I can go first if you want.”

Gregg hesitated for a moment. Finally, he said, “Okay. Let’s do it.”

“You want me to go first?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Okay then.”, Angus cleared his throat, “Today, we’re here to celebrate what will be the greatest moment of my life and what I hope will be the greatest of yours. We’ll be together for the rest of our lives, and I couldn’t ask for a better tomorrow than one where I get to be with you. Every night, we’ll come home, and nothing else will matter except for us, not a thing in the entire universe, because now, you’re my universe, and it’s one that cares. It cares so much more than the stars that we used to look up to at night staring down at us, the far-off galaxies that probably will never know we existed, or the vast expanse of nothingness that contains all of it. None of it matters, because you’re here, and I’m here with you, and that’s all I need to be happy.”

Gregg held a hand over his mouth as tears seemed to pour out of his eyes. He was even shaking a bit.

When Gregg went to talk, his voice wavered tremendously, “I… Damn it. How am I supposed to match that?”

“You don’t have to. Just say whatever comes to mind. I’ll love it no matter what.”

“Alright. Alright.” Gregg wiped the tears from his eyes as best he could and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself.

“You’re… you’re the best thing that could have possibly happened to my life. I wouldn’t be anywhere without you. I’m not just some parking lot trash anymore thanks to you, and now, I get to be with you forever. I never thought I’d be able to make it this far, but because of you, I could. We’re here, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Thank you, for saving me, for staying with me, and for standing here with me, ready to make a future together with me. You could have been with anyone else, but you’re with me. I love you, and I can’t wait to love you for the rest of my life.”

Angus was never one to cry, but he couldn’t help but shed some tears at that. Mae was now crying as well. Bea didn’t cry, but her eyes were certainly glossed over. After Gregg had finished, Angus and him looked at the judge, who was smiling.

The judge sighed, “You know, I never understood why they force us to skip the vows. They’re always the best part. Well, besides what comes next of course. Do you have rings prepared to exchange to each other?”

“I already have one, but I still haven’t given him mine.”, said Angus, pulling out the black box with the ring he had prepared. “It’s nothing like yours, but I hope you like it anyway.”

Angus opened the box to reveal the golden ring. He took it out and grabbed Gregg’s hand.

“It’s perfect. Thank you.”, said Gregg, as Angus slipped the ring onto his finger. 

“Okay, it’s finally time for what I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for. Greggory Lee, do you take Angus Delaney to be your lawfully wedded husband?”, asked the judge.

“Of course.”

“And do you, Angus Delaney, take Greggory Lee to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then I pronounce you two husband and… well, husband. You may kiss the groom.”

Gregg pulled Angus in for a deep, loving kiss, embracing him as he did so. Angus was momentarily surprised by the sudden action but was soon lovingly kissing him back. Everyone in the room cheered and clapped. Bea had finally begun crying a bit, as did Matthew, Jen, and Gregg’s parents. The flash of a camera could be seen capturing the moment.

When the two ended the kiss, Gregg pulled Angus in for a hug, crying into him with joy as he did so. Angus happily returned the hug.

The judge looked at a clock on the wall, “Congratulations on your marriage, but I’m afraid we’re going to have to wrap things up. I’m expecting the next couple momentarily.”

Gregg and Angus ended their embrace. Gregg looked up at the judge, “Okay. We’ll get going. Thank you.”

The judge nodded, “You’re welcome. I wish you a long and prosperous marriage.”

Gregg and Angus began walking out, and everyone else began to follow. Once out in the lobby, they all grouped up.

“Woo! It finally happened!”, cheered Mae, “You’re finally married!”

“Yes, we are. So, who’s ready to party?”, asked Gregg with excitement.

“Yeah! Let’s go!”

“Okay. Everyone, get into your cars and follow us. We’ll lead you to the place. It’s nothing too intense, just a place where we can hang out, get some drinks, and celebrate. We’re also planning on staying at a hotel right next to it, so drink to your heart’s content.”, explained Angus.

“Except Mae. We don’t need Mae getting drunk again.”, added Bea.

“Yeah, I’d rather not.”, agreed Mae.

“Trust me, that’s for the best.”, said Stan.

“So, if everyone’s ready, let’s get going.”, said Angus.

Everyone went out to their cars and got in. Once Gregg and Angus pulled out, so did everyone else. They followed them for a few blocks before pulling up to a small bar. Upon stepping inside, it was much tamer than the Moonlit Wonder that Mae and the others had visited a few weeks ago. The music was geared more toward jazz than electronic dance music, and there were noticeably fewer people. The lack of a dance floor left Mae slightly disappointed.

“Aw, man, now I can’t show off my amazing dance skills.”

“Yeah, that is pretty disappointing. You were really good last time until you crashed into Andy.”, agreed Gregg.

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Let’s just go get something to drink and sit down.”

Mae, her dad, and Lori were the only ones who didn’t order some sort of alcoholic beverage. Mae simply ordered some soda, while Lori and Stan ordered some fruit drinks. After everyone got something to drink, they sat down at a group of tables, each one with six chairs. Gregg and Angus sat with their families at one table, Mae and Bea sat with Lori at another, and Mae’s parents and Aunt sat with Casey’s parents at a third.

“Well, I guess we got stuck with the loners’ table.”, remarked Bea.

“I mean, I’d rather be at a table with three people at it than a completely full one.”, said Mae.

“Yeah, I’m not exactly a people person.”, Lori agreed, “I only really know Mae. I’m honestly surprised she invited me. I only met Angus once, and I’ve never talked to Gregg before.”

“Well, now you’ll get to know them better. They’re both great. You and Angus seemed to hit it off.”

“I mean, sure, I guess. I kind of just told him about the movie idea I had. He said he liked that I was trying to go for something besides a typical monster or serial killer movie.”

“What’s your movie about again? I wasn’t really there for it. I was too busy helping Mae through her vomit session.”, asked Bea.

Mae gave Bea a glare until Lori began talking, “Well, my idea was to have this person who lives in this house, and there’s a window in the house, and when they look through the window, it leads to a parallel dimension or something, and there’s someone standing outside in the backyard outside the window.”

“Sounds cool. How long have you been in film school?”

“I just started last semester, so I’ve still got a long way to go before I can think about making my own movie.”

“Just make sure to stick with it. This is an opportunity that neither of us got. Don’t throw it away.”

“But I did get that opportunity, Bea, and I did throw it away.”, said Mae.

“You’re different. Sure, you made it to college, but the circumstances were still against you.”

“I guess.”

“Yeah, I won’t. I’m going to make it and prove to everyone that doubted me that I can do it.”, said Lori. Saying that seemed to get her fired up. She wanted it, and Mae and Bea could tell.

“I know you can do it.”, assured Mae.

“Thank you. I really appreciate it”

After that, Gregg and Angus came and sat down with Mae and Bea.

“How’s our newest couple doing?”, asked Gregg.

“Good. How about you?”, replied Bea.

“We’re good. We introduced everyone, and now we’re just leaving them to get to know each other.”

“It kind of looks like you left Matthew alone over there with your family.”, said Bea.

“He’ll be fine.”, assured Angus.

“If you say so.”

There was a slight lull in the conversation as everyone took sips from their drinks.

“So, uh, Casey’s parents are here.”, said Gregg.

“Yeah. I talked to them earlier. They still think he hopped on a train. They hope he’s happy still.”, replied Mae.

“Shit. I hate having to keep it from them.”

“No one ever said we had to. You just decided to.”, said Angus.

“What, you think we should just walk up to them and say ‘Hey, your son’s not alive. He was thrown into some hole into the ground because a group of people decided he didn’t matter.’?”

“No, but we need to tell them. It’s going to hurt, but it’s better than living a lie.”

“Well, when could we tell them? They’re probably leaving tomorrow.”

“Then we’ll have to do it tomorrow or tonight. Now, I’d rather do it tomorrow and not spoil our marriage day with it.”, suggested Angus.

“Damn it. Fine. We’ll do it tomorrow before they leave. We’ll all wake up, pull them aside, and tell them their son is dead.” Gregg was a mix between sad and angry. He didn’t want to tell them. No one did.

“We’ll all do it together.”, assured Bea.

“Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s just enjoy the rest of our night. We can worry about it when it gets here.”, requested Mae.

“Yeah. Let’s enjoy ourselves. I’m gonna go get another drink.”, said Gregg, getting up and heading over to the bar.

Everyone sighed, and Lori was just there, taking in everything she just heard

“So, that missing person poster. He’s… dead?”, asked Lori.

“Yeah, and we don’t want to talk about it right now. If you want, you can message me, and I’ll explain it to you some other time.”, replied Mae.

“Okay, that’s fine.”

The rest of the night was relatively calm. For the first time in a while, Mae had managed to not embarrass herself in a social situation, and for her, that was a victory. After they were done partying, the all headed over to the apartment next door, ready to get a good night’s rest.


	18. The Truth Hurts

When everyone got to the hotel, they had to decide how to split up the rooms. Gregg and Angus were getting a room to themselves, so that left the other 12 to split up rooms. In the end, Lori decided to get a cab home, since she had some homework that she’d rather not leave for only Sunday, and it was decided that Gregg’s parents, Jen, and Matthew would stay together, Candy, Stan, and Molly would take a room, and Mae, Bea, and Casey’s parents would take the last room. Mae was a bit apprehensive about staying in a room with Casey’s parents, but she would have to put up with it.

When everyone had a room, it was already 9:00. There was still some time to socialize before going to sleep, though. Mae, however, was not in the mood to have a conversation with Casey’s parents.

Mae made herself yawn, “I’m tired. I think I might just go to sleep.”

“Wow, Mae Borowski on a decent sleep schedule? You really have changed.”, said Alex.

“Do you remember when Casey and Mae would stay up really late at each other’s houses and play video games?”, asked Katie to Alex.

“Yeah. They were so adorable back then. How about you, Mae, do you remember that?”

Mae did remember that. She wished they could have done that more.

“Yeah, I remember. I would always beat him.” Mae let out a weak laugh.

“So, you and Bea are together now?”, asked Katie.

“Yeah, we are. It’s pretty great.”

“You know, I think Casey might have had a crush on you back in high school.”

“Really? What makes you say that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. He just seemed to like you a lot. He never told us, but it just seemed like he spent a lot of time with you in particular.”

“Huh. Go figure.” Mae was beginning to remember all of the times Casey and she had hung out. She missed him so much.

“If he did, I wonder why he didn’t just wait for you to get back, so he could tell you?”, wondered Alex.

“Heh. Yeah, I wonder.” Mae’s voice wavered slightly when saying that. She was lying again.

Bea saw that Mae was uncomfortable with the conversation and decided to interject, “Mae, we should probably get to sleep. We don’t want to throw our sleep schedules off. We do still have work on Monday.”

“Uh, right, yeah, we should probably do that.”, said Mae, seeing what Bea was doing for her.

“Yeah, I guess we should get to sleep, too. We want to head home early. It wouldn’t do for us not to be there if Casey comes back.”, replied Katie.

That one hit Mae hard. ‘If Casey comes back’. He wasn’t coming back. He was in some hole in the ground where no one would ever find him. Why did it have to be him? Mae wanted so badly to see him again, but she never would.

At that moment, the worst thing that could have possibly happened occurred. Mae felt a tear flow down her cheek. Bea saw it, and she was unable to respond before Casey’s parents saw it.

“Why are you crying, Mae?”, asked Alex.

“Oh, I, uh, I just miss Casey a lot.”, replied Mae in a hurry.

“Well, we all do, but he did what would make him happy. He couldn’t be happy in Possum Springs, so he left. We should be happy for him as much as we can.”

Mae felt like life had to be taunting her. Why else would they keep talking about Casey like that?

“I, yeah, I know.” Mae felt terrible. It felt like it had with her parents and the shapes all over again, only worse because she was hiding the fact that someone’s son was dead, and by extension, the fact that she had unintentionally gotten dozens of people killed. She hadn’t even told her own parents yet.

Bea could see that things were getting out of hand, “Mae, it’s okay. Just go to sleep.”

“Yeah, we’ll let you get some sleep. We’re sorry if we made you feel bad. It’s okay to feel sad that he left.”, added Alex.

There it was again. ‘He left.’ Not ‘He’s gone’ or ‘He’s dead.’ Just ‘He left.’ Every time they implied he was still alive was a punch to the gut. Mae knew they just used it as a way to cope with him not being there, and that she’d even said herself that believing gives things meaning, but this was too much.

“It’s not okay.”

Bea immediately knew what the next words out of her mouth would be, but she didn’t know how to stop her.

“What do you mean?”, asked Katie.

“Mae, we talked about this.”, Bea warned.

Mae completely disregarded Bea’s warning, “What I mean is that it’s not okay, _he’s_ not okay. Casey is dead!” Mae was yelling by the end. Bea was sure everyone had heard what she said, and sure enough, she could hear hurried movements from next door where Gregg and Angus were.

Bea had to try to de-escalate the situation, “Mae, we don’t know that. Now, come on, let’s go to sleep. We can talk about this in the morning when other people aren’t trying to sleep.”

“No, I can’t do this anymore! I can’t sit here and listen to them talk like Casey is still alive and happy! He’s not! He’s in a goddamn hole in the ground!”

Gregg rushed through the door, Angus following close behind. 

“Mae, what are you doing?!”, yelled Gregg.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t sit here and pretend like nothing’s wrong!”

“W-what do you mean he’s in a hole?”, asked Katie.

“I’m sorry, but your son is dead.”

“Mae, stop!”, demanded Gregg.

Mae continued despite Gregg’s pleading, “Casey is dead! The day he went missing, that wasn’t because he hopped on a train and left! He went missing because a bunch of people took him and sacrificed him for their fucking murder cult!”

“What?! Why?! Why would anyone want to sacrifice him?!”, pleaded Katie.

“I don’t understand. Who would do something like that?!”, demanded Alex.

“They sacrificed him because they thought he wasn’t worth anything. They saw him as a parasite because of what his cousin did, and I’m sorry, but everyone involved is dead. When we found them in the old mines outside Possum Springs, there was a cave-in when we used the elevator. We’re lucky we were able to make it out. Everyone else was trapped down there. They’re all dead. There won’t be any justice for Casey or anyone else they murdered.”

“What the hell, Mae?!”, yelled Gregg.

“What? I’m just telling them what we were going to tell them tomorrow anyways!”

Katie was in complete shock with tears streaming down her face, and Alex was stunned to silence.

“We agreed to do it tomorrow because we didn’t want to deal with it on the day we got married, you asshole!”

“I’m not an asshole! I’m just telling them the truth!”

“Oh, my god, shut up, Mae!”, Bea scolded, “What is wrong with you?!”

“What’s wrong with me?! I’ll tell you what’s wrong! Casey’s gone, and he’s never coming back! He’s gone! He’s… gone. I miss him so much. Goddamn it!” Mae’s eyes were red with tears.

“We all miss him, Mae, but that doesn’t mean you get to say whatever the hell you want!” Gregg was crying now, too, “This is _not_ what I wanted to deal with after getting married!”

Angus watched helplessly as everything spiraled out of control. Finally, he decided to step in.

“Okay, that’s enough! Both of you, our room. Mae and Bea, stay here and go to sleep. We’ll talk about this in the morning.”

Katie regained enough composure to speak, “No… I think we’re just going to go. I just need to leave right now.”

Katie got up and went to leave, and Alex followed her soon after.

“Fine. Come on, Gregg. Let’s go.”, said Angus, leading Gregg back to his room and closing the door behind him.

After a moment of silence, Mae spoke up, “What did I do wrong?”

“Oh, my god, Mae! How can you not see what you did wrong?!”

“You heard them, didn’t you?! They were in denial!”

“They were parents who somehow had the strength to believe that their son was still alive, and you just went up to them and stomped on that! You couldn’t have at least let them down gently?!”

“Both of you, go to sleep! If you get kicked out because of this, that’s your problem!”, yelled Angus from the other room.

Mae and Bea glared at each other until Bea finally got up and moved into the now vacant second bed.

“We’re going to sleep, but tomorrow, you’re going to go and apologize to Gregg and Angus for what you just did. Today was their special day, and you just ruined it.”, said Bea before turning off the lamp in the room, engulfing Mae and her in darkness.

Mae didn’t say anything. She only covered herself with the blankets of her bed and turned to face the wall. For a few hours, she tried to sleep, but the more she thought about what she said, the worse she felt. She _had_ ruined Gregg and Angus’ one and only marriage day, and the Hartley’s were probably devastated by what she said.

Finally, Mae couldn’t take it anymore. She got up. Bea was asleep. She knew that what she was about to do was stupid, but she needed to do it. Rummaging through Bea’s stuff, she picked up Bea’s car keys. She also found a pen and a piece of paper. She wrote a note on the paper and left it on her bed. Then, she walked out of the hotel with the keys in hand. 

Walking back over to the bar, Bea’s car was one of the only ones left in the parking lot. Getting in, Mae started it and drove off. All of the memories of hanging out at Casey’s house took center stage in her head. She knew where she needed to go.

At around 5:00, Bea woke up. She just couldn’t sleep right. Last night had been a disaster. She figured she’d get up and play on her laptop for a few hours until everyone got up. She went to grab her laptop, but something caught her eye. Mae’s bed was empty. No, it wasn’t empty. There was a note on it.

_“Mae, I swear to god if you did something stupid again…”_

Picking up the note, it read,

_Hey, Bea. I’m assuming you’ll be the first to read this. I just want you to know that I’m fine, and I’m sorry for ruining everything again last night. I know you said I’d apologize when I wake up, and I will, but it might be a little while. Look, long story short, I took your car, and by now, if everything goes well, I should be at Casey’s house. I need to talk to them. I know this is stupid, and I should have just waited, but I couldn’t sleep. Please, try to understand._

Bea read the note, horrified. After she finished, she rushed out of her room and went over to Gregg and Angus’. She knocked frantically. She heard some shuffling from inside, and the door slowly opened. Angus answered.

“Bea? What are you doing up so early? Is something wrong?”

“Mae’s gone!”

“What?”

“Here, read this.” Bea handed Angus the note, and he began reading. Gregg got up and went next to Angus.

“What’s going on?”, asked Gregg.

Angus finished reading, “Shit. Does she even have a license?”

“No, of course not!”, replied Bea.

“And she’s driving with no sleep. This could be really bad. We need to go.”

“Did something happen to Mae?”, asked Gregg.

“Bug, I need you to stay here. Text me if Mae gets back here before us.”, said Angus.

“Where did Mae go?”

“She said she was driving all the way to Casey’s house. She hasn’t had any sleep, and she’s never driven a car before. Hopefully, she hasn’t gotten into an accident or gotten arrested.”

“What?! No, I’m coming with you!”

“I need you to stay here so that if Mae comes back, we have someone to tell us.”

“No, you’re taking me with you. Look, I have an idea.”

Gregg ran over to the room with his family and Matthew in it. He knocked. Jen answered.

“Oh, hey, it’s my favorite cousin. What’s got you up so early?”

“Um, it’s a long story.”

“Does it have anything to do with all that yelling we heard last night?”, asked Jen.

“Yeah… Look, that’s not the point. If Mae comes back, I need you to text me. Can you do that?”

“Does that mean I have to stay up now?”

“Yes. Please.”

“Fine. You’re lucky you’re my favorite cousin.”

“I’m your only cousin.”

Jen laughed, “Exactly. That means you have to be my favorite.”

“Okay. I really need to get going. Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem.”

Gregg ran back over to Angus and Bea.

“Okay. Now, Jen will text me if Mae comes back.”

“Alright, you can come. Let’s get going.”

Everyone ran downstairs and out to the cars. Sure enough, Bea’s car was missing.

“I can’t believe Mae actually took my car. What the hell is she thinking?!”, said Bea, as they all got into Angus’ car.

“We’ll figure out when we find her.”, replied Angus.

“The things we do for you, Mae.”, remarked Gregg.

Everyone put on their seatbelts, and Angus pulled out. He still remembered the way back to Possum Springs fairly well. The day they moved was firmly etched in his mind as one of the best days of his life. He drove, barely keeping below the speed limit. Hopefully, Mae would be alright.


	19. Apologies

So many things could have gone wrong with Mae’s drive. She could have easily crashed or gotten pulled over, and then what? She didn’t know any of her friends’ phone numbers, not having a phone herself. How would they find her?

Miraculously, none of these questions would need to be answered, because Mae was able to make it all the way back to Possum Springs without any sorts of mishaps. The familiarity of everything evoked some kind of strong emotion in Mae that she couldn’t put words to. She passed by her house, Selmers’ house, Taco Buck, the Ol’ Pickaxe, Video Outpost “Too”, the Snack Falcon, Clik Clak Diner, it all brought back memories of life before.

Finally, she reached Casey’s old house. From what his parents said about waiting for him, Mae assumed they still lived here, and sure enough, their car was out front. After finding a spot to park, Mae got out and walked up to the front door. Hopefully, they would be awake.

Katie answered the door. She looked horrible. Her eyes were red with tear streaks running down her face. Had she been crying the whole time?

_“Of course, she has! You just told her that her son died, and you didn’t even have the decency to do it lightly!”_

“M-Mae? What are y-you doing here?”, asked Katie.

Mae felt herself shrink in front of her, “I wanted to talk to you, about what I said earlier.”

“W-what is there to talk about? Casey’s… he’s g-gone, right?”

“Yes, he’s gone. I’m sorry that I can’t change that. It’s just that after what I said to you, I wanted to make sure you were okay. I was really harsh about it, and I shouldn’t have been.”

Katie looked at Mae for a few seconds before saying, “Okay. Come in.” Katie moved out of the way to let Mae into the house, closing the door behind Mae as she entered.

Entering the house, Mae was hit with a tsunami of memories and emotions. Photos adorned the wall, most of them with Casey in frame. There were photos all the way from when he was just a baby up until graduation day. They were backed with warm, autumn-like colors for the walls. This house always felt like a second home for Mae. It was always so comforting.

Katie led Mae into the living room, where Alex sat on the couch with his head in his hands. He wasn’t crying, but he was hurting badly. Katie and he were both visibly exhausted, physically and emotionally.

“Please, take a seat.”, urged Katie, motioning to the chair that was placed across from the couch. Mae sat down in the chair, and Katie joined Alex on the couch.

“Hi, Mae.”, said Alex without lifting his head. His voice was barely audible.

“Hi. Are you both okay?”, asked Mae. Her question was answered when Alex looked up and locked eyes with her. They were empty, void of any emotion. He had shut down emotionally. Katie wasn’t emotionless, but all Mae could find in her was despair.

_“You did this. You broke them.”_ , Mae thought.

“When Casey died, was it painless at least?”, asked Katie.

“I can’t answer that. I don’t know what the hole looks like deep down. I was only ever able to see the surface. The cult said that they were feeding some sort of god, but I don’t know how believable that seems. Honestly, part of me is scared that he’s not dead, but that’s probably just my anxiety about the whole thing talking.”, explained Mae.

“This cult… why did it even exist?”

“You should know by now that Possum Springs has been slowly dying for years now. The people that were in that cult wanted to bring the town back to its former glory. They just… went about it in the wrong way.”

“How many people did they kill?”, asked Alex.

“Dozens. They said dozens. They said it without any remorse. I want to call them monsters, but in a way, I almost understood them. I would never kill anybody, at least if they didn’t deserve it, but I knew how they felt. I wanted the old days back, too. It hurt so bad to come back and see everything I used to love die off.”

“How could we have missed it the whole time? If dozens of people went missing, why were they never caught before you found them?”

“After the mines collapsed, missing person posters went up for every person that was in that mine. Some of them were police officers. The police never found them because they had people inside to make sure they never looked for them. Also, the mines were dead. No one ever went there anymore. They had the perfect hiding place right outside of town.”

“But why Casey? You said they thought he was worthless, but why? We loved him. He had plenty of friends. He meant a lot to a lot of people. I mean, sure, his cousin made a lot of mistakes, and he dragged Casey in with him, but that doesn’t make Casey a bad person.”, questioned Katie,

“Casey wasn’t a bad person, but they didn’t see it that way. They saw what he was doing and decided that he was going to grow up to be just like his cousin, so they took him instead of someone else.”

The room fell silent. It seemed like the Hartley’s had gotten answers to all of their questions.

“Is that everything you wanted to ask?”, asked Mae.

They both simply nodded.

“I’m sorry about everything. I guess if that’s everything, I’ll get going. I’m probably the last person you wanted to see after last night, but I needed to make sure you were both alright. Please, try to get some sleep. I can tell you haven’t gotten any.”

“What about you? You’re just going to drive all the way back to Bright Harbor looking like that? It’s not safe. Please, stay here. We’ll go get some blankets and a pillow, so you can use the couch.”, said Katie.

“No, you don’t need to do that, really. I’ll be fine. Besides, I’m sure everyone is worried about me.”

“And I’m sure they would rather worry about you a bit longer than have something actually happen to you. You’re staying here. Get some sleep.”

Mae wanted to protest, but she couldn’t find it in her to argue. She was exhausted. It was probably a good idea for her to get some sleep. Katie and Alex set up the couch for Mae before heading off to their own bedroom. Finally, whether it be because she was more at peace or just because she was tired, Mae fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Angus drove to Possum Springs at high speed. Luckily, it was Sunday, so traffic wasn’t too bad.

Bea and Gregg weren’t sure how to feel about Mae. They were both worried about her, but they were also pissed at her for making them worry. It was a strange place to be in.

“Mae had better be okay. She and I are going to have a nice, long talk after this.”, said Bea angrily.

“Why does she have to be so difficult?”, wondered Gregg.

“It’s just how she is.”, replied Angus.

“That doesn’t mean she can just steal my car and drive off without even asking me!”, yelled Bea.

“I’m not saying what she did was a good thing, quite the opposite, really, but I’m just saying that this is normal Mae behavior. You should honestly be expecting things like this at this point, especially after an argument like that. You know she doesn’t deal with emotional trauma very well.”

“She could have at least waited until today to pull this shit, but no, she had to make a big scene right after we got married.”, said Gregg.

“Gregg, I think that saying that Mae ruined the day for us is dumb. Just because she did something stupid, it doesn’t mean that everything else didn’t happen. We still got married. We still had a fun party afterward. Everything that made yesterday great is still there, and it’ll still be one of the best days of my life, despite everything else that happened. I’d be sad if you let Mae ruin it all for you.”

“I guess. Still, I really wish she’d learn to control herself.”

“I’m the one who decided to be her girlfriend. How do you think I feel?”, replied Bea.

“If you think it isn’t working, you need to drop the relationship. Don’t let it drag on longer than it needs to.”, said Angus

“No, I don’t want to end the relationship. Even after all of this shit, I still want to be with her. It’s just hard having to worry about her all the time.”

“Just so you know, you never stop worrying. If you do, it’s a sign something’s gone wrong.”

“Hey, cap’n. Where did you get all of this relationship advice?”, asked Gregg.

“Honestly, I feel like this sort of thing should just be common sense, but people never seem to get it. I don’t want you getting stuck in an unhealthy relationship, Bea. I saw what it did to my parents, and you don’t deserve that. Also, I’ve been with you for 9 years now, Gregg. I think I’m qualified to talk about relationships now.”

“Wow, 9 years? That’s, like, a doctorate in relationships.”, joked Bea.

“Dr. Delaney, master of relationships. It has a nice ring to it.”, said Gregg.

“Oh, so you’re taking his name?”, asked Bea.

“Yep. I’m a Delaney now. Greggory Delaney. Angus Lee just didn’t sound right. Also, I want to try to bring some more good into Angus’ family. He deserves a better family name, and I’m going to make it for him.”, explained Gregg.

“So, Bea, what about you and Mae? You have 3 options. You can either have Mae Santello, Bea Borowski, or you can be one of those indecisive people and just have Mae and Bea Borowski-Santallo or Santello-Borowski.”, joked Angus.

“Oh, god. Borowski-Santello and Santello-Borowski just sound gross.”, commented Gregg.

“Okay, we’ve only been going out for a couple of weeks. We’re far from when we’d ever get married, assuming we can keep the relationship going long-term.”

“I mean, it seems like you’ve been able to put up with a lot so far. I think that if you can get past this, you should be fine.”, said Angus.

“Don’t get me wrong. There’s only so much shit I can handle. I’m going to sit her down and talk to her about this because I can’t deal with all of this stress she keeps putting me through.”

“That’s probably a good start. I hope everything works out.”

“Thanks. I hope so, too.”

A few hours later, they were back in Possum Springs, and soon after that, they were at Casey’s house.

“God, this place brings back memories.”, said Gregg.

“Yeah, it does.”, agreed Angus.

“Come on. Let’s go inside. The car’s right there, so Mae’s probably fine.”, urged Bea, getting out of the car, “I need to give her a piece of my mind.”

Bea went up and knocked on the door. It took a few moments, but Katie opened the door.

Katie rubbed her eyes. It looked like she had just woken up, “Oh, it’s you. Uh, Mae’s inside. She’s sleeping on the couch.”

Bea followed her inside with Gregg and Angus behind her. When they reached the living room, Mae was sound asleep on the couch.

“Should we let her sleep?”, asked Gregg.

“No. She should have slept last night. If she still needs sleep, she can sleep on the car ride back.”, replied Bea, giving Mae a rough shake.

Mae’s eyes fluttered open. When she looked up and saw Bea, she jumped up.

“Bea? What are you doing here?”, she asked nervously.

“What do you think? I came to bring you home. Come on, let’s go.”

Mae sat in confusion for a second before getting up and following Bea outside.

“Um, I guess this is goodbye, Mrs. Hartley. I’m glad we could talk.”, called Mae as she left.

“Feel free to come back any time, okay?”

“Okay.”

Mae got outside. She hadn’t expected to be woken up by Bea, and she was surprised she hadn’t gotten yelled at yet.

Bea stopped after everyone was out, and the front door was closed. She turned to look at Mae. Mae stared back anxiously, waiting for whatever was going to come next.

“Okay, now that we’re outside…” Out of nowhere, Mae felt a strong impact to her face as Bea slapped her, “What the _hell_ is wrong with you?”

Gregg and Angus had looks of shock on their face. They expected her to yell at Mae, but not this.

Mae stood there, reeling back from the force of the hit. It would leave a mark, that’s for sure.

“Well? I’m waiting.”, said Bea.

“I-I’m sorry, I just-“, Mae managed to stammer out before Bea cut her off.

“You’re _sorry_? You’d better be sorry! You _stole my car_ and drove off without a license and with no sleep! You could have been hurt, killed, or arrested! What made you think that was a good idea?!”

“I couldn’t sleep. I needed this.”, argued Mae weakly.

“You couldn’t wait a few hours for me to wake up? I would have driven you myself!”

“Look, I don’t know what I was thinking, okay? I was stressed, and sleep deprived, and I wasn’t thinking straight. I’m fine, though. I’m alive. Nothing happened.”

“That’s not the point! One of these days, you’re going to do something stupid, and something _is_ going to happen! What are you going to do then?”

“Uh, hopefully not die?”

“But what if you do die? What about your family? What about us? There are people who love you. Damn it, _I_ love you!”

She said it. Bea actually said it. Mae wasn’t sure what to think. On one hand, she just got slapped by her girlfriend, but on the other…

“Really? You… love me?”

“Of course, I do, you dumbass! Why else would I still be with you?! I don’t think anyone who didn’t love you could last in a relationship with you for more than a couple of days!”

“Heh, yeah. You’re probably right.”

“Look, just don’t do anything like this again, okay? You’re driving me crazy.”

“Yeah, I won’t. I promise.”

“That’s a promise. I expect you to keep it. I don’t care if you act immature sometimes, just stop worrying me all the time.”

“I told you I won’t.”

“Okay. Let’s go home. I’d like to get in some relaxation before I have to deal with Jenny again.”

“Have you made any progress with her yet?”, asked Mae.

“Not really. I have managed to stop a few firing sessions, though. I need to do some more research on her dad, see if I can find anything to use against her.”

“Oh, living the spy life, I see.”

Bea laughed a bit, “I’m not a spy. I’m just trying to save the store. Honestly, every time she fires someone, it gets harder to find a replacement. Eventually, we won’t have enough employees to run it.”

“Wow. She fires people that often?”

“Yeah. Two of the people I met on my first day are already gone.”

“That’s really shitty.”

“Tell me about it. Okay, seriously, let’s go home.”

“Wait. There’s still something I need to do.”

Mae walked over to Gregg and Angus.

“I’m sorry about being an asshole yesterday. I know it was supposed to be a really special day for you, and I ruined it.”

Gregg sighed, “Don’t worry about it. Just because you made a scene last night, doesn’t mean we didn’t get married. It’ll still be one of the happiest memories of my life. I am still mad at you for running off and making me worry about you again, though.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again, I swear.”

“You better not. Like, geez, I know we joke around about wanting each other to die in horrible ways, but I didn’t actually want you to die.”

“I’ll still never understand that.”, commented Angus.

“Yeah, sometimes, I don’t think we even understand it, but it’s fun, so whatever.”

“Okay, I’m gonna go back with Bea now.”, said Mae.

“We’ll be right behind you.”, replied Gregg.

Mae went back to Bea, and they finally got into her car. Gregg and Angus also got into their car. Soon, they were on their way back home to Bright Harbor.


	20. Back to the Grind

After Mae was brought back to the hotel, everyone was relieved to see that she was okay. Her parents and Molly lectured her for a bit afterward. Gregg’s family and Matthew said their goodbyes and left for home. Then, so did Mae’s family. Everyone was heading off to their homes.

“I guess that means we should get going, too.”, said Bea.

“Yeah. Let’s all go home.”, agreed Angus.

The four got in their respective cars and went back to their apartment building. The rest of the day was spent relaxing after a very eventful weekend. Tomorrow, it would be back to the grind of work.

When it was time to go to bed, Bea let out a long sigh, “I really don’t want to go to work tomorrow.”

“I know that feeling.”, replied Mae.

“I think anyone with a job knows that feeling.”

“There has to be someone out there who goes to sleep on Sunday thinking ‘Man, I can’t wait to go to work tomorrow.’”

“I’m sure that person exists somewhere, but that’s not us, sadly.”

“Oh well, there’s nothing we can do about it, so let’s just go to sleep.”

“Yeah. I’m going to need all of the energy I can get to deal with Jenny tomorrow.”

Mae and Bea got in bed and quickly fell asleep after a long day. The next thing they knew, it was morning again, and that meant they had to get ready for work.

Mae and Bea ate breakfast, showered, and put on their work uniforms, just like they would any other weekday morning. Then, they left. Bea dropped Mae off at her job.

As Mae was leaving, she turned around, “I love you, Beabea.” Her tone was overly perky.

Bea rolled her eyes and smiled, “Yeah, yeah, I love you, too.”

Mae giggled before running off.

_“She can be so childish sometimes.”_ , Bea thought.

_“It’s cute, though.”_

Mae looked behind her to see Bea drive away. She was ready for another week of work. Julie was waving to her from the distance.

“Hey, Mae!”, she greeted as Mae walked over to her.

“Hi, Julie. You ready for another week of work?”, asked Mae.

“Yep. Let’s go find the others.”

They walked until they found Jake and Gavin talking to Harvey.

“Oh, hey, you two. I was just about to explain to these guys what you’ll be doing today.”, said Harvey.

“Well, now you can explain it to all of us.”, replied Mae.

“That’s probably for the best. Now, as I was about to say, today, you four will be building a section of the wall for this new building we’ve got going here. It is extremely important that you do your best today.”

“Why is that?”, asked Mae.

“For one, this is a building that will have people in it. It needs to be built safe and sturdy. That is not the only reason, though. You know how you’re not the only group taking part in this internship, right? Well, sadly, we can’t accept every one of you as a full-time worker. In the end, only one group will be taken in. We only make exceptions for workers who have demonstrated exceptional qualities and may have been held back by their team. This is your first real test. In order to save resources, we will be letting people go as the internship goes on, and at the end of the week, the first decision will be made. You will be judged on your ability to work with your group, as you have proven you are physically able to perform this job already. You need to be able to count on each other to get a job done efficiently.”, Harvey explained.

“Holy shit.”, muttered Mae.

Everyone began looking at each other. Would they be able to pull this off? They were good, but were they better than every other group? Were any of them good enough to be a stand-out choice if they failed?

“I have blueprints for how to build a section of the wall here. By this point, we have shown you how to use all of the tools necessary to do this. I suggest you get started right away. Good luck.” Harvey handed the blueprints to Jake and walked away.

Looking at the building in question, it wasn’t too incredibly big. I might be turned into a restaurant or maybe, a small store. It had been started very recently by the looks of it. Looking around, there were five other groups who would be working on it. There were a few professionals around, but they seemed to be there more to make sure the job was done right and that no one got hurt.

“Okay, let’s get started. The first thing we need to do is put vertical supports along our portion of the wall. Mae, I want you to go gather the wooden studs and bring them here. Julie and Gavin, you’re going to put the supports up and secure them. I’ll help anyone if they fall behind. I’ll start by gathering wood.”, ordered Jake. It seemed he would be the leader for this project, and no one minded.

Mae and Jake went to gather wood, and Julie and Gavin got out the tools they would need to build the wall with it. The other groups seemed to have similar divisions of labor. It would come down to a test of cooperation and time management.

After the first round of studs was brought back, Jake stayed behind and had Mae go fetch more wood. By the time Mae got back again, a few of the supports were already up. The other teams seemed to be keeping pace.

“Mae, come help us for a bit.”, said Jake.

Mae nodded and began helping build up the supports. A few of the other groups picked up on this and began doing it as well, though the others didn’t take notice. They would fall behind soon.

The first few studs were easy to place, but then they came to where a window would be.

“What do we do now?”, asked Mae.

“Well, we’re going to need a ladder. Mae, could you go grab that? Also, we’re going to need shorter beams. Gavin, could you go cut a few of these down?”

“Got it.”, replied Mae and Gavin. They ran off to perform their task, and Jake and Julie moved down to a section of the wall where there wasn’t a window or door to put up more beams.

When Mae got back, she could hear arguing from one of the groups. Someone’s measurements were off, but they couldn’t agree on who’s. Mae actually started to become hopeful that they might make it through all of this. A lot of the groups seemed to be lagging behind for one reason or another.

Hours passed, obstacles came and went, and Mae’s group was doing surprisingly well. Jake turned out to be a great leader. It was probably because of him that they had done so well. They weren’t the strongest, and they weren’t the best at handling tools, but by the end of the day, they had a large portion of the wall complete, and upon inspection, there were very few mistakes to speak of.

At the end of the day, the groups were gathered up by their leaders. Mae and the others went with Harvey.

“You did good. Now, I’m supposed to tell you to expect a call later if you’re being let go, but I can tell you it’s not going to happen. I have high hopes for you. Keep going like this, and I’ll be able to look forward to working with you for real.”

“Thanks, sir.”, replied Mae.

“Oh, don’t call me sir. No one calls each other sir here. It’s weird.”

“Oh okay. Well, uh, thanks, Harvey.”

“Don’t thank me. You did the work.”

“Alright. If you say so. This is weird, though. Like, it feels like we’re on some kind of game show. You know, the ones where they eliminate people every week.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot. It’s not my doing. The higher-ups thought it would help save money and resources, but I think it’s actually a little unfair. You’ve only been here for a couple of weeks, and already, you’re competing to see who’s the best. The reason these internships last so long is so we can teach you everything you need to know, and letting people go so early defeats the point of that.”

“Higher-ups suck.”, said Mae.

“Yeah, most of the time, they do, but there’s nothing we can really do about it.”

Mae thought to what Bea was trying to do with the assistant manager. Was there really nothing she could do?

“My, um, girlfriend, Bea, is working at this hardware store, and the assistant manager fires people constantly and doesn’t know how to do her job right. She wants to try to get her fired, but this girl’s dad is higher up in the company, so she doesn’t know what to do.”

“Jenny Young? Is that the girl?”, asked Harvey.

“Yeah. How did you know?”

“I’ve been to that store before, and it was right in the middle of one of her arguments, too. Yeah, I don’t think she’s getting fired anytime soon. You won’t find anything on her or her dad.”

“Why not?”

“Well, there’s nothing to find. Sure, Jenny’s a bitch, but with her dad where he is, she won’t be gone unless he’s taken out, and to be honest, he’s not a bad guy. He does severely coddle Jenny, and sure, he may have ruined a lot of jobs in the process, but other than that, there’s nothing he’s done that would be grounds to fire him. He does it all for his daughter, which I can understand. I’d say the only way to get her out of there would be to get her to leave herself, maybe find a job she’s better at.”

“Wow. I never thought of it like that. That could actually work. Wait, how do you know all of this?”

“Truth be told, I used to hang out with him when Jenny was real young. That was when he was still just starting out in that store. I got to watch him climb the ladder. We stopped talking after a while. Just never had the time to see each other, you know. He has his life, and I have mine.”

Bea’s car pulled up to the construction site.

“I guess that’s your cue to leave.”, said Harvey.

“Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.”

Harvey waved as Mae ran off. Soon, the others had left as well.

Mae got into Bea’s car, “Hey, Bea!”

“Hey, Mae. How was work?”

“Super stressful. This internship just became like some kind of game.”

“How so?”, asked Bea.

“They’re eliminating people like you see in all of those game shows on tv. It’s really dumb. We barely got a chance to learn anything before they started pitting us against each other.”

“Maybe, it’s a good thing.”

“How?”

“Think about it. These people aren’t getting paid anything to do this internship. If they get let go early, then they can start looking for other work sooner rather than digging themselves into a hole by working for free for a year when they weren’t going to be accepted anyway.”, explained Bea.

“Hm. I guess. Still, they could have given us at least a month or something to get used to working with tools and stuff.”

“Maybe. It’s not like we make the rules.”

“Yeah. So, Harvey actually told me some stuff about Jenny and her dad. He used to know him.”

“Really? What did he say?”, asked Bea.

“He said that you’re not going to find anything on them, because there’s nothing to find, at least not that he knows of. He said that despite what he’s done, Jenny’s dad is generally a good person and that the best way to get Jenny out of the store would be to get her to leave willingly, like, maybe if she finds another line of work.”

“That’s easier said than done. We’re talking her giving up a really nice paycheck for bossing people around all day instead of doing her actual job. Not many people are going to give that up so easily.”

“You can still try, can’t you?”

“I guess if there’s nothing I can find that’ll let me out her dad from the position he’s in, then that’s my only option for now. That means I’m going to have to hold an actual conversation with her, though. Not exactly looking forward to that.”

“You can do it. You’ve dealt with having conversations with me for five years now.”

“You’re right. If I can hold a coherent conversation with you, I should be able to talk to anyone.”, replied Bea sarcastically.

“Exactly. Now, let’s go home.”

“Yes. Let’s go home.”


	21. Confrontation

After hearing what Harvey told Mae, Bea prepared herself to meet with Jenny again the next day. If she was going to convince her to leave herself, she would need to get to know her, and that wasn’t an exciting prospect, to say the least.

When Bea awoke the next morning, it was once again a normal morning. Shower, eat breakfast, get dressed, etc. After dropping Mae at work, she went to the hardware store. Walking in, she saw the new cashier, Wallace. Tod had been fired after a run-in with an unruly customer that ended with him taking the blame for the mess they made of the cash register. On the plus side, the new cash register they got was much better than the old one.

Bea also saw the new janitor, Terry, mopping the floor. Ron had actually quit himself after Jenny had thrown a whole shelf of stuff onto the floor and ordered him to clean it in a fit of rage.

Danny was still there somehow. He had resolve, that was for sure. He needed to be here, and Bea made sure she did whatever she could to help him. This had resulted in a few small scuffles with Jenny, but Bea always made sure they never got out of hand.

Then, there was Jenny. She was walking down the aisles, looking at the shelves. Bea took a deep breath and walked up to her.

“Hi, Jenny.”, greeted Bea.

“Oh, hello, Bea. Are you ready for another day of hard work?”, asked Jenny with that overly happy voice that Bea hated. It was way too fake.

“Yeah. I actually wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?”, Jenny asked, suddenly skeptical.

“I just thought that it’s already been a week and we barely know each other. I thought we could… just talk.”

Something flashed across Jenny’s face. Joy? Whatever it was, it didn’t stay long enough for Bea to confidently identify it before she plastered the forced smile back on.

“Of course! We do hold very similar positions, after all. So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Well, tell me about yourself. I mean, I know what you’re like at work, but what about out of work? What are your hobbies?”

A bit of worry broke through Jenny’s face for only an instant before she answered, “Um, well, uh… I like to cook.”

“Really? You like cooking?”, questioned Bea, honestly surprised that Jenny would enjoy cooking of all things.

“Uh, yeah. I mean, we need to eat, right?”

“True. One of my best friends is a great cook.”

“Really? Cool.”

“So, how much do you enjoy cooking? How good are you?”, asked Bea. Maybe, this was a potential path she could take with her.

“It’s really fun, but I’m no gourmet chef or anything. It’s not great, but that’s fine.”

_“Maybe chef? Let’s keep digging.”_ , Bea thought.

“Okay. Anything else?”

Now Bea definitely noticed the nerves taking hold of Jenny.

“Um, uh, well, I like to… watch movies.”

“I like watching movies, too. What kind do you like?”

“I like, uh, romcoms. I also watch some horror. Really, I’ll watch anything, if I’m being honest.”

This wasn’t where Bea wanted this conversation to go. They were talking about movies now. She needed to find possible career paths, and watching movies wasn’t going to get Jenny anywhere. She needed to be a bit more direct, but she didn’t want to risk letting her on to what she was trying to do.

“So, did you ever go to college?”, asked Bea.

“No. I wanted to, though.”

That took Bea by surprise. If what Mae told her was true, Jenny’s father cared a lot about her. Why wouldn’t he just pay for her to go to college? There was something deeper going on here, and Bea felt it might bring her closer to getting Jenny out of this store.

“What did you want to go to college for?

Jenny seemed at a loss. She didn’t want to answer. Why?

“You know, uh, stuff. I didn’t get to go anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. What about you? Did you go to college?” Jenny was trying to change the subject.

“No. I didn’t have the money.”

“Oh, that sucks.”

“Why didn’t you go to college?”, asked Bea, hoping to steer the conversation in the right direction again.

“Uh, money was tight, that’s all.”, replied Jenny anxiously.

“Doesn’t your dad make a lot, though? I’ve heard he’s pretty high on the corporate ladder.”

“Y-you know about that? How?”, asked Jenny.

“My girlfriend works with an old friend of his. They got to talking a bit about him, and she told me afterward.”

“Oh, you have a girlfriend? What’s she like?” Jenny was avoiding the question again, but Bea couldn’t press her on it, or she might become suspicious. How could she manipulate this?

“She’s pretty crazy. She actually went to college, but she dropped out after two years. Now, she’s working in construction. It goes to show you can still lead a fulfilling life even without college. Trust me, if someone as insane as her can do it, anyone can.”

“Really? That’s cool.”

“Yeah. I kind of resented her for giving up college when I never got the chance to go, but I understand why she did it now. You know, I wanted to be an engineer.”

“Wow. So, you were a math and science person, huh?”

“Yep. It was always my strong suit. What about you? What did you want to do before you got this job?”

“Oh, uh, I always wanted this job. It’s, um, great!” Bea could tell she was uncomfortable saying that. Was she lying to her?

“So, did you want to go to college for business or something?”

Jenny perked up a bit, “Oh, uh, yeah, totally! Business major!”

“But then it just makes less sense that your dad wouldn’t give you the money. If you had gone to business school, it would have benefitted you a lot, especially if he was going to give you this job.”

“Are you saying I can’t do my job right?”, asked Jenny angrily. There was still some anxiety breaking through the anger, though. Bea knew she was close. She just needed to push a little further, maybe feed her a compliment or two while she was at it to calm her before she lost her job.

“That’s not what I’m saying at all. All I’m saying is that college could have helped you do your job even better than you already are. Plus, I’ve also heard that your dad was the type of person who really cared about you, maybe even coddled you a bit. With his position in the company, sending you to college shouldn’t be detrimental to him, and it could benefit the store. He had to have known that he would have made the money back if he could have you working more efficiently after finishing college, especially with how high up he is. He has to be smart to have made it that far. I have a feeling you’re not telling me something.”

Jenny couldn’t answer. Bea had won, and they both knew it. Whatever Jenny was hiding had to come out.

“I-I think we’ve learned a lot about each other today, and as much as I’d love to continue, we should really get to work.”, said Jenny, as she tried to back out of the conversation.

“Jenny, please. What is it that you can’t say? Stop lying to me.”

“Why should I tell you?”

“Because I am your superior. You answer to me.” Bea knew she was tempting fate right now. If Jenny wanted to, she could have her fired tonight. She only hoped that she had done enough to convince Jenny not to do that to her.

“I-I have the power here. You know m-my dad can have you fired, e-even blacklisted. I’ve never had to d-do that before. Don’t b-be the first.”

Now there was something that made Bea think twice about pressing forward. If she was blacklisted, it would be impossible for her to get a half-decent job. She would be screwed. Looking back at Jenny, she wasn’t angry anymore. It was almost as if she was scared, or maybe remorseful. What was so horrible that she would threaten to blacklist her?

Bea took a deep breath and pressed on, “Please, whatever it is, just tell me. Did you not want this job? What did you actually want to go to college for? Why did your dad not let you go? Tell me.”

Now Jenny was really scared. She backed away. Her threat hadn’t worked, and it seemed she wasn’t ready to follow through on it either. Some of the other workers were watching in bewilderment as Bea continued to put pressure on her.

“I… I… Okay, fine! I never wanted to work here! I wanted to be a chef! I wanted to throw away this opportunity so that I could cook for a living, but my dad wouldn’t let me! He was afraid that I wouldn’t make it, so he didn’t give me the money to go to cooking school, and I either had to work here with a decent paycheck or go work at some shitty, minimum-wage job!”

There it was. Bea had gotten what she needed. Now, all she had to do was help her move forward with this dream of hers.

“How good are you at cooking?”, asked Bea.

“I-I think I’m okay.”

Bea sighed, “After work, come with me to my apartment. Like I said, I have a friend who’s great at cooking. I bet he could give you some pointers.”

“Huh? You… actually want to help me?”

“Yes. I want to see if you can make it. Look, can you admit that you’re not exactly cut out for this job?”

“… Yeah. I know I’m trash at this job. I have… serious anger issues, and it just takes control of you, you know?”

“You could see a therapist about that. Honestly, with the number of people you fire on a weekly basis, I think you could use it.”

“I know. I just hate it here. No one likes me, and they have every reason not to at this point. Even though I’m just an assistant manager, it still feels like I have so much responsibility, and I don’t know anything about all of this.”, Jenny motioned to the shelves of various tools and supplies, “I mean, how can there be so many kinds of nails?! It’s insane!”

Bea gave a bit of a condescending but understanding smirk. She knew all about the pain of having so many different types of nails to keep track of.

“Okay, how about this? I’ll do what I can to help you with your cooking career, and just let me handle all of the manager responsibilities around here. I’ll make sure no one tells on you. Deal?”

“I… Wow. You’re serious.”, Jenny let out a small laugh, “A deal it is, then. Thank you.”

“Yep. Okay, everyone back to work!”, Bea called out to the small crowd that had gathered to witness the first time anyone successfully confronted Jenny. They quickly scampered off back to their work.

“Alright. Jenny, how about you go take a break and think about what you might want to cook tonight? I’ll handle running the store for now.”, requested Bea.

“Yeah, sure! Thank you so much!”

Jenny ran off, leaving Bea to ponder everything that had happened. Maybe, Jenny wasn’t _that_ bad. Maybe, she just needed to be given a push in the right direction. This could work.

“Wow, Bea, I can’t believe you just did that!”, said the voice of Danny from behind Bea.

Bea turned around, “I thought I said to get back to work.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s just, wow. I never would have thought that she didn’t even want to be here. What gave you the idea?”

“Honestly, I didn’t really think that would be the answer until partway through the conversation. I was just trying to see if there was any possibility of her switching careers, and it happened to bring me there.”, Bea explained.

“Cool. Well, good luck with all of that. I hope it all works out.”, replied Danny as he walked away to get back to work with stocking the shelves.

“I hope it works out, too.”, muttered Bea as she went back to walking around and monitoring the other workers. No one else questioned her on what had happened. Most of them were happy to have the possibility of her being gone. The rest of the day was normal. Nothing else out of the ordinary happened. When the day was done, Jenny walked out with Bea.

“So, this friend. What are they like?”

“He’s really nice. Out of all of my friends, he’s always the voice of reason. He’s calm, smart, and just all around a great guy. I don’t think anyone couldn’t like him. I do have to warn you, though. His husband is pretty wild.”

“He’s queer? Wow. So, you’re queer, and he’s queer.”

“Is there anything wrong with that?”, asked Bea.

“No, no. I just thought it was a strange coincidence, that’s all.”

“I do have to admit, the fact that my whole main group of friends is queer is pretty weird. There was this one kid, Germ, that we used to hang out with, and I’m pretty sure he isn’t queer, but he just kind of disappeared one day after he graduated. There are no missing person posters, so I’m assuming his family at least knows where he is. Mae said they didn’t want to tell her, though.”

“Oh, that’s weird. Um, so, I just follow you to your apartment, then?”

“That’s the plan.”, replied Bea.

“Okay. I’ll just go to my car and wait for you to go then.”

“Yep.”

“Thank you again.”

“No problem.”

Jenny got in her car, and Bea got into hers. Bea began driving, and in her rearview mirror, Jenny’s car followed close behind. Bea sighed, hoping that tonight wouldn’t go south. Things seemed to be going south a lot lately. She just hoped today would break that streak.


	22. Defying Expectations

After picking Mae up, Bea led Jenny to her apartment.

“Wait, so it actually worked?”, questioned Mae.

“Yep. Now, all I need to do is help her get the job she actually wanted.”

“What if she’s not good at cooking?”

“Well, we’ll just have to teach her, then.”

“I don’t think either of us are qualified to teach her how to cook.”

“I’m talking about Angus. Also, what are you trying to say about my cooking?”, asked Bea.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”, replied Mae nervously, “Are you sure Angus will be willing to just help her like that? I mean, he and Gregg have probably got a honeymoon planned soon.”

“We’ll figure it out as it comes. For now, let’s just see what he has to say. If she’s good enough, we might even be able to start putting her out there right away”

“If you say so.”

It didn’t take long after that to arrive home. The walk up to Angus and Gregg’s apartment was silent, as Mae and Jenny both felt awkward, never having met before. When they reached the door, Bea hoped that Angus would accept her inviting herself and some other girl he only knew through what Bea had said about her, which was less than stellar, into his home to teach her how to cook. Thinking it through, she probably should have waited until tomorrow to do it, so she could have made sure Angus would be fine with it, but it was too late to turn back now. Bea knocked.

“Coming.”, called Angus from inside. A few moments later, the lock clicked, and the door opened, Angus standing on the other side.

“Oh, hey, Bea, Mae, and… who’s this?”

“Hey, so, long story…” Bea explained everything to Angus, trying her best to leave out anything Jenny might consider to be too personal.

“So, this is Jenny. I have to say, the prospect of teaching someone else how to cook is interesting, though I don’t know how good I’ll be. I guess a good place to start would be to see how good you already are at cooking. Would you mind preparing dinner for us tonight? In exchange, I’ll give you criticism and do my best to help you improve.”

“Sure. Yeah, I can do that.”, agreed Jenny.

“Alright, then. Come on in.”, Angus walked back inside, calling to Gregg, “Gregg, I’m not cooking tonight.”

“Aw, man. Why not?”

“Well, long story short, someone else wants to cook for us so I can teach them. Also, Mae and Bea are here.”

“Who’s cooking?”, asked Gregg.

“Someone from Bea’s work. They want to become a chef, and Bea wanted me to help them.”

“Are they good?”

“We’ll see.”

Jenny thought for a bit about what to cook. After looking through the cupboards in the kitchen, she decided on spaghetti. They had all of the essentials and plenty of extra spices to add some flavor. She got to work.

Angus and Bea watched her as she cooked, Angus to see if anything could be improved, and Bea to see if what she was hoping for was possible. The way Jenny acted in the kitchen was completely different from how she acted in the store. In the kitchen, she was free of the stress of working a job she hated to make her dad think she was happy, and it showed. She was calm, and Bea couldn’t detect the mask she had made for herself at work.

There would be times where Jenny would ask Angus or Bea to grab something for her or even help a bit, and she was respectful about it. She wasn’t being picky or bossy. It was amazing to Bea that she could be like this.

While Jenny cooked, Mae and Gregg hung out in the living room watching tv. Garbo and Malloy was on.

“So, how’s the married life treating you?”, asked Mae.

“It’s not that different from when we weren’t married. Then again, life was great before we got married, so that’s probably a good thing.”

“Do you guys have a honeymoon planned soon?”

“Yeah. We’re going up north to Brush Valley. They have a nice hotel there. It’s a fairly big tourist place. Angus said he wanted to go there because it’s supposed to be right by one of the best places in the countries to watch the stars from. You just drive out a couple of miles from the town, and there’s an area with no lights for miles, and since it’s winter, there probably won’t be too many people there, so we’ll be able to find a spot all to ourselves and just watch the stars.”

“Gregg, that sounds romantic as hell.”

“I know, dude. I’m excited. It’s gonna be really cold, though.”

“When are you going?”

“This weekend.”

“The weather forecast did say it would be pretty cold this weekend. How long are you staying?”

“We’re leaving on Friday after work, and we should be back Sunday night. We do have work, after all.”

“What? That’s only, like, 2 days.”

Gregg shrugged, “Eh. We didn’t want to take time off work, and to be honest, I don’t think this one town would last us that long anyway.”

“Possum Springs lasted us over 20 years.”, argued Mae.

“That was because we lived there. Come on, if anyone ever went there just to see the town, how long do you think they would have lasted? I’d say less than a day.”

“I guess. Still, it feels like your honeymoon should be longer. It’s supposed to be really special.”

“It’s fine, really. It’ll still be a great time, as long as we’re together.”

“Okay, that was so unbelievably cheesy just now.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s true, though.”

“I’m kind of jealous of you two.”

“How come?”, asked Gregg, “You have Bea, right?”

“Yeah, but everything just seems so… perfect with you two. Whenever I try to do something with Bea, I always screw it up, and then we have an argument about it, and I just don’t get it. What am I doing wrong?”

“Okay, Mae, first rule of relationships. They’re _never_ perfect. You were there when we had that argument at Donut Wolf, right?”

“That was my fault, though. It wouldn’t have happened if I had just acted like an adult around you.”, argued Mae.

“It was my fault, too. I was the one who pushed you to do crimes with me in the first place. You just sort of enabled it. Arguments happen. Sure, they shouldn’t happen constantly, but no two people are going to agree on everything. I’m not gonna lie, Angus and I had our fair share of arguments when we started out. I did a lot more reckless shit back then, and a lot of it resulted in arguments. I… always won, because Angus needed me to stay. He gave in a lot at first, either because he didn’t have the will to fight with me at the time, or just because he didn’t want me to leave. That changed later on after I found out what was happening to him.”

“I know arguments are supposed to happen sometimes, but it feels like we can never just enjoy ourselves whenever we try to do anything special. I ruined our first date because I broke down for no good reason in the new Pastabilities. I’m still doing reckless shit, and I’m 25.”, Mae sighed, “I remember when we used to be in scouts together. We were best friends. We almost never got into fights. I don’t know what happened. We stopped talking, and when I saw her again, she was an adult, and I wasn’t. I thought I was, but I was still just like a goddamn teenager, probably worse.”

“I know how that feels, but I think the first step to growing up is realizing that you’re an annoying teenager. After you realize that, I think you just sort of get better.”

“I haven’t, though. I want to change, but my mind keeps getting me to do stupid shit that I know is stupid.”

“Well, you have an actual job now, or at least you’re on your way there. Also, if you managed to get Bea to date you, you have to have some kind of redeeming qualities. Like, for real, has Bea ever dated anyone before?”, questioned Gregg.

“I mean, there was that one guy in math camp that she slept with, but I don’t think that was really dating.”

“Bea slept with someone in math camp?!”, exclaimed Gregg a bit too loudly.

“Mae, what the hell?!”, yelled Bea from the kitchen.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t realize he didn’t know that already!”

“Well, it’s too late now. Yes, I slept with some guy at math camp. Can we not talk about it while we’re making dinner?”

“Okay.”, replied Mae.

“Why would I know about that?”, asked Gregg, now back in his normal voice.

“I don’t know. Maybe, Angus told you or something. I’m sure he had to know about it.”

“Whatever. We’re getting off topic. So, I’m going to assume that Bea hasn’t dated anyone before, or at least not for years. The fact that you were able to get with her should tell you that you’ve at least made some progress.”

“I just feel like each time I screw up, I’m just getting closer to driving her away for good.”

“Trust me, it’s gonna take a lot more than what you’ve done so far to break Bea. She’s been through so much worse. Just do what I said. Try to think of her whenever you’re about to do something dumb. You’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Okay. Thank you for talking to me about this… again.”

“No problem. I’m just helping you through your down-down days like you did for me.”

“Yeah.”

“Dinner’s ready!”, called Jenny from the dining room.

Mae and Gregg joined the others at the table. It was time to taste Jenny’s cooking. A plate of spaghetti was served to everyone.

“I hope it’s alright.”, said Jenny.

“Thank you for cooking for us, even if it ends up being bad.”, said Angus.

Angus took a bite first. Everyone looked at him to see how he reacted. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking as he chewed and swallowed. Finally, a smirk found its way onto his face.

“This could work.”, he said.

“What do you mean?”, asked Bea.

“I mean that what you’re trying to pull off is possible. You won’t be joining any five-star restaurants without more training, but if what you want is to be a cook, then I think you could do it. Now, this is just from one meal, so I’m not sure how you are at cooking other things. Can you cook with this quality consistently?”

“I think so. Is there anything you think I should change about the spaghetti specifically?”, questioned Jenny.

“To be honest, I’m not sure. My cooking knowledge only goes so far. Anything I could say about this would be personal preference. I’d say go to a professional if you want someone to scrutinize your food. Other than that, I’d just say start getting yourself out there. Look for job openings and cook for people.”, Angus suggested.

“Really? Thank you. I’ll get started as soon as I can!”

“Hey, Jenny.”, said Bea.

“What?”

“Come into work tomorrow, and I’ll let you go off and job hunt and stuff. I’ll cover for you.”

“Wow, I can’t believe you’ve done all this for someone like me.”, replied Jenny.

“This is going to benefit both of us. Now, I’d suggest maybe getting some professional help with your anger. You don’t want your bad side coming out while you’re working somewhere without your dad to bust you out.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll do that.”

“So, are we gonna start eating or what?”, asked Mae.

“It’s probably best to eat before it gets cold.”, agreed Angus.

“Okay. Let’s eat then.”, said Bea.

Everyone ate and enjoyed it. It was pretty good spaghetti. Jenny even joined, and Bea was able to have a normal conversation with her about movies. Everyone else joined in as well. Bea had to admit, when she wasn’t being an ass, Jenny was okay to talk to. Tomorrow would probably be a calm day with Jenny off looking for work elsewhere.

Eventually, dinner was done, and everyone went their separate ways. Mae and Bea were left to go back to their own apartment. When they got back, they both plopped down on the couch.

“That was some nice spaghetti.”, commented Mae.

“It was pretty good.”, agreed Bea.

“So, I was talking to Gregg, and he told me that he and Angus were going to Brush Valley for their honeymoon.”

“Angus told me that Sunday night.”

“What? Wow, that was quick. You two are really tight.”

“We’ve been best friends for years now.”

“So have me and Gregg. We’ve been best friends since high school.”

“Angus and I have known each other since middle school.”

“Huh. I didn’t know that. It’s funny how you knew Angus, and I knew Gregg, and they ended up getting together. They’re the reason we even started talking again.”, Mae pointed out.

“Yep. Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“…Why did we stop talking back then?”

Mae didn’t know how to answer that. She didn’t know why they stopped talking.

“I don’t know. It just kinda happened. I didn’t want us to stop talking. It was probably my fault, though.”

“Why would you just assume it’s your fault?”, asked Bea.

“Because… I don’t know.”

“Whatever. I just wanted to know if it was something I did.”

“It wasn’t. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“That’s… good to hear.”

“I’m glad we started talking again.”, said Mae.

“Me, too.”

“Um, since you got to ask me something, can I ask you something, too?”

“Yeah?”

“After all of the stupid shit I’ve done lately, are you sure you still want to be with me? I mean, there have to be better choices out there, right?”

“Mae, to be honest, I’ve had my doubts. I love you, but a lot of the stuff you’ve done is causing me a lot of stress. I’m worried about you. I want you to be okay, and I’m afraid of not being there if something goes wrong. The fact that I decided to be in a relationship with someone as reckless as you still boggles my mind. I’ve already lost pretty much all of my family, and it hurts to think that I might make you a part of my family only to lose you, too.”

“You’re not going to lose me, Bea. I’ll be fine. I promised I would stop being reckless, right?”

“Yeah, you did. Now, you just have to uphold that promise.”

“I will.”

“Okay, then there’s no problem.”

“Okay. Um, so, Gregg and Angus are gonna be on their honeymoon this weekend. Did you want to do anything this weekend?”

“Was there something you had in mind?”

“Not really. I was just seeing if you had anything in mind.”

“Well, the past few weekends have been very… let’s say eventful. How about we just stay home and relax this time?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“It’s settled then.”


	23. Honeymoon

While Mae and Bea were taking a break from social interaction outside of their apartment this weekend, Gregg and Angus still had a honeymoon to go on. It would just be the two of them exploring a new town and being together.

After finishing work Friday, the two got in their car and began their drive. Brush Valley was only slightly closer to Bright Harbor than Possum Springs was, so it was nighttime when they arrived. They decided to grab some fast food due to how late it was and find a hotel to stay at. They had brought some excess money with them for food, souvenirs, and of course to stay in a hotel.

After eating their fast food, Gregg and Angus decided to go to sleep. The rest of the night was spent wrapped in each other’s arms. Then, the morning came, inviting them to experience all they could in this nice, little town.

After waking up, Gregg and Angus cleaned up, got dressed, and went out to enjoy their honeymoon together. It was snowing out, yet the sun still managed to shine through the clouds.

“So, what do you want to do first, bug?”, asked Angus.

“Didn’t you say this place had a really good pancake house?”

“Supposedly, yes.”

“Let’s go, then! I love pancakes!”, cheered Gregg.

Angus smiled, “I know you do.”

The two walked along, holding hands. Angus looked at his phone to find locations to the pancake house.

Gregg shivered, “It’s really cold up here, isn’t it?”

“Yep. It gets colder as you go up north. That’s just how it is.”

“Damn. I didn’t think it would get this cold. Even with two jackets on, I’m freezing.”

“We’re not far from the pancake place. We’ll be warm in a bit. Here, take my jacket.” Angus removed his jacket and placed it around Gregg. Now, he was really feeling the cold.

“Aw, thanks, cap’n. Are you sure you don’t need a jacket? It’s really cold.”

“I’ll be fine. Let’s just go.”

“Maybe, we should have taken the car.”, said Gregg.

“Nah. It’s better to walk. It’s easier to just go from place to place and experience everything that way, even if we have to endure a bit of cold. We could buy some better coats, though. I’m sure they sell them somewhere.”

“Pancakes first, then coats.”

The couple arrived at the pancake house, hurrying inside to escape the cold. They ordered pancakes and sat down at one of the tables. When the pancakes arrived, Gregg drenched his in syrup, earning a few strange looks from those sitting nearby.

“Oh, man. These look so good!”, commented Gregg excitedly.

“At this point, I think they just look like a blob of syrup.”, said Angus.

“Exactly! Syrup is the best!” Gregg tore off a piece of the stack of pancakes with his fork, neglecting to even touch the knife that had been provided, and shoved it into his mouth, somehow managing not to get syrup everywhere.

While Gregg devoured his pancakes, Angus poured some syrup on his and began eating. He was taking it much slower. They were nice and fluffy, though Angus doubted Gregg could tell. The syrup was also great. It was just the right amount of sweet, and the thickness was perfect.

After Gregg’s plate was empty, Angus still had half of his to finish.

“Wow. That was good.”, said Gregg, patting his stomach.

“Yeah. They’re really good.”, agreed Angus.

“Come on, hurry up. We still have so much to do.”, urged Gregg.

“We’ll be fine if I take a couple of extra minutes to enjoy these pancakes.”

“Fine.”

It wasn’t long before Angus finished eating. He paid for the food, and Gregg and he left. It was back to the cold. They trudged through the streets until they saw a clothing store. Surely, they would be able to find coats there.

The two entered, and sure enough, one of the first things they saw was an aisle for winter coats. They had all sorts of materials for coats. Wool, fleece, down, etc.

“What should we get?”, asked Gregg.

“If we plan on going out stargazing later, I’d say a down jacket would be the best. They’re very warm, even though they can be a bit bulky.”, answered Angus.

“And expensive, too! Look at this!”

The jacket Gregg had was almost 200 dollars.

“Yeah, they’re going to be expensive no matter what we get if we want to be warm. That’s why I saved all of that money.”, said Angus.

“Maybe, we should have bought jackets back at Bright Harbor.”

“They wouldn’t have been any cheaper. In fact, they may have been more expansive.”

“I know. It’s just, we’re here buying coats when we should be out doing stuff.”

“It’s fine. There’s nothing we can do about it now. Here, give me that jacket.” Gregg handed him the jacket, and Angus picked out one for himself. Gregg’s was black, like his leather jacket, and his was green, just like his old favorite sweater.

They bought the coats and put them on. Stepping back outside, it was noticeably easier to withstand the cold. Now, they could enjoy the rest of what the town had to offer without needing to worry about freezing.

The rest of the day was filled with fun activities. They had found an arcade, which surprised Angus a lot. He thought arcades had died already, but apparently not. Both lunch and dinner were spent trying different local restaurants, which were both good. There were a few tourist shops around as well. They were pretty empty, due to the time of year. It wasn’t Longest Night quite yet.

After a long day of exploring the town and enjoying their honeymoon, nighttime began to arrive.

“Aw, man. It’s almost night already. Everything’s going by so fast.”, lamented Gregg.

“Yeah, I know. It’s too bad we can’t stay longer. Come on, let’s go back to the hotel. The night’s not over yet.”, said Angus. They went back to the hotel and got in the car. Angus looked up where he was going on his phone and began driving.

“So, stargazing, huh?”, said Gregg.

“Yeah.”

“We’ve never done this before, have we?”, asked Gregg.

“Nope.”

“Wow. I can’t believe you never took me to, like, Possum Jump or something. You went with Mae once, right?”

“Yep. It was nice.”

“How come you never took me there?”

“I’m not sure. It just never came up, I guess.”

“Whatever. We’re doing it now, so it doesn’t really matter. What’s it like?”

“Well, you just kind of sit there and get lost in the stars. You’ll see what I mean when we get there.”

It took about 15 minutes to get where they were going. Gregg was surprised when they stopped in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. In front of them was a field blanketed in white with only the sky above. Luckily for them, there were no clouds to be seen.

“There really are, like, no lights anywhere, are there?”, questioned Gregg.

“Nope. Nothing, except for the moon and the stars. That’s why this place is so great. Also, I can’t see any other cars, so it seems like we have the place to ourselves for now. Let’s go find a spot.”

“Find a spot? I feel like we could just sit down anywhere and be fine.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Just pick somewhere, and let’s sit down.”

“Hmmm…” Gregg though for a moment before picking up a chunk of ice from the road and throwing it. When it landed, he pointed at it, “There.”

“Okay.”, agreed Angus. They went and sat in the snow.

“If you want, you can lay down.”, said Angus, laying back, “It might be more comfortable that way. Just be sure to put your hood up if you do.”

Gregg nodded and laid back with Angus. He felt for Angus’ hand, taking it in his when he found it.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”, asked Angus.

“Yeah.”, replied Gregg.

“Think about it. To us, the stars seem so tiny, but they’re actually millions of times larger than Earth. They’re right there. We can see them, but we’ll never reach them because they’re so far away.”

“We reached the moon, didn’t we? I’m sure we’ll reach the stars one day.”, argued Gregg.

“Not in our lifetime. Besides, what happens when we reach them? They’re just floating balls of burning gas. They don’t really mean anything.”

“I guess. They’re nice to look at, though.”

“Yeah, they are. It’s just… thinking about the universe gives me this feeling inside. I can’t really describe it. It’s just this feeling in the pit of my stomach. There’s so much more to the universe than just… us. Our lives seem so big, so important, but to think there’s infinitely more out there is amazing… terrifying… It’s a lot of things, things I don’t have the words to describe.”

“Does any of it really matter, though? I mean, if we’re never gonna see it, what’s the point of thinking about it?”

“I don’t know. I just can’t stop myself from thinking about it. I think… everything in the universe only means anything if we give it meaning. Like, the stars. We like to use them for symbolism or metaphors, so now they’re more than just floating balls of burning gas, at least to us. I’m gonna tell you the same thing I told Mae. I believe in a universe that doesn’t care and people who do.”

“That… makes sense.”, replied Gregg.

“Sure, the stars, the moon, they’re all just things, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to give them meaning ourselves. It’s what people do. We’re pattern-finders, so we find patterns.”

“You know, this is one of the reasons why I love you. You’re always smart like this. Now, I’ll never be able to look at the stars the same way again.”

“Well, I’m glad I was able to do that for you.”

Gregg and Angus sat there for a while, only staring up into space. It was magical. They felt like they were connecting on a deeper level, just being there, getting lost in the vastness of the universe.

“Hey, bug?”, said Angus.

“What?”, asked Gregg.

“You wanna know one of the reasons why I love you?” Angus turned to face Gregg.

Gregg turned to face Angus, smiling and blushing, “Why?”

Angus cupped Gregg’s face in his hands, “That smile.”

That got Gregg to blush harder, “R-really?”

“Yes.” Angus then pulled Gregg in for a kiss. Gregg was startled, but only for an instant, before he began to kiss back. The two lovers made out under the stars as their love for each other swelled.

When the kissing ended, it felt as if it had been cut off far too soon. The two stared into each other’s eyes, Gregg on top of Angus, both breathing heavily.

“I love you so much.”, said Gregg.

“I love you, too.”, replied Angus.

They stared at each other for a few moments more, before Angus’ breath hitched.

“Huh? What happened?”, asked Gregg.

“Look.” Angus urged Gregg to get off him and turn around, and he did. What he saw was possibly one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. Streaks of green and blue danced across the sky.

“What is that?”, asked Gregg.

“The northern lights.”

“Really? We were kissing for that long? How did the northern lights form without us even knowing?”

“It doesn’t matter. This is a really rare opportunity. Let’s just enjoy it.”, said Angus.

The stars were nothing compared to this. Gregg was mesmerized by the beauty of it all.

“I can’t believe we’re actually seeing the northern lights on our honeymoon. Could this be any more perfect?”

“I don’t know.”

“This is amazing.”

“I know.”

Gregg and Angus were now sitting up. Angus had his arm wrapped around Gregg. He couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend his honeymoon with Gregg. Was this the universe’s way of telling him that it did care, that it cared enough to want to make tonight as special as it could be? Maybe. That didn’t matter now, though. All that mattered to Angus was him and Gregg.

They would never forget that night. It would always hold a special place in their memories.

The rest of the honeymoon was fun, but it couldn’t hold a candle to that night. When it was time to go home, neither of them complained. Asking for anything more than what they got would be unreasonable.

It was time to get back to their normal lives, and that was okay, as long as they were still together.


	24. One Last Push

While Gregg and Angus were away on their honeymoon, Mae and Bea spent their time relaxing at home. They watched movies and played video games all weekend. Mae was getting Bea more and more into video games, and soon enough, they were equally bad at them. Other than that, nothing notable happened that weekend, which they both welcomed. It was nice not to have some sort of argument or stressful event happen.

When Gregg and Angus got back, they told Mae and Bea about their experience in Brush Valley as well as getting to see the northern lights.

“Wow, really?! That’s so awesome!”, exclaimed Mae.

“I know! I can’t believe it actually happened! I never thought I’d get to see the northern lights!”, agreed Gregg.

“It really was magical.”, added Angus.

“So, how about you? What did you two get up to while we were gone?”, asked Gregg.

“Just movies and video games.”, said Mae.

“Mae cried during at least four of the movies.”, added Bea.

“Hey! I didn’t expect those people to effin’ die! It’s your fault for not warning me!”, argued Mae.

“Come on. With how many video games you play, you should be used to people dying by now.”

“Yeah, but never the main character! Seriously, why would you kill off the main character?!”

“Shock value?”, replied Bea.

“That’s just cruel.”

“Whatever. What about the other 3?”

“Okay, when those people looked like they were breaking up, I was really sad.”

“Mae, that happens in every romance movie. Do you, like, not watch movies?”

“Not romance movies. I like action and adventure, or maybe some horror, but not romance.”

“Right. Well, it was amusing regardless.”

“You thought my suffering was funny?!”

Bea smirked, “Yeah, I kinda did. You have a problem with that?”

“Of course, I have a problem with that! How could you be so heartless?” Mae’s voice was overdramatic. It was obvious that she didn’t actually have a problem. She was just playing it up for laughs.

Gregg and Angus watched as Mae and Bea bickered.

“Geez, they’re like an old married couple.”, whispered Gregg to Angus.

“Yeah… I’m not sure what to make of this.”, agreed Angus.

“Do you think we should just leave?”, asked Gregg.

“Nah. I want to see how this ends.”

“Bea, you’re going to make me cry.”, said Mae melodramatically.

“Bea said nothing at first, instead opting to go and grab a tissue, “Here. Now, you can cry your heart out again.” Her tone was completely deadpan.

“Oh my god, shut up! I get it. I cried a lot. You don’t need to keep bringing it up.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. As long as you admit that you cried a lot.”

“Yes, I cried. I cried a lot. Now, can we be done so we can talk to Gregg and Angus?”

“Sure.”

“Um, actually, we should probably get going. We do have work tomorrow, and so do you.”, said Angus.

“Yeah, he’s probably right. Later, dudes.” Gregg and Angus left, leaving Mae and Bea by themselves again.

“Now do you see what your recklessness has caused? We ran out of time to talk to Gregg and Angus.”, said Mae.

“Please, that ‘argument’ only lasted, like, a minute.”

“Still, that’s one minute less that we got to talk to them. I demand compensation!”

“And what do you suggest I pay you back with?”, questioned Bea.

Mae’s eyes narrowed, “You’re going to pay me back… in snuggles.”

Bea gasped underwhelmingly, “What? Oh no, you mean that thing we do every night anyway? How horrible.”

“That’s right. You’d better get started on your payments tonight, or you might not ever pay off the debt. There is a very high interest rate, you know.”

“I’m honestly surprised you even know what an interest rate is.”

“Wow. For that, I’m adding extra time to your debt.”

“Oh, no. How will I ever pay it off?”

“Like I said, you’d better get started.”

“I guess we’re getting started, then. Let’s go.”

“That’s right. You will give me all of the snuggles!”

That night, the two of them slept peacefully together. It was a nice way to end off a pleasantly normal weekend.

The next morning, they both woke up refreshed, and ready to work. It was just like any other morning, which was good. Normal was good.

After going through their morning routine, Bea dropped Mae off at work and then went to the hardware store. She wondered if Jenny had made any progress over the weekend. The search for a job was going rather slowly, but Bea didn’t mind. Jenny wasn’t firing people since she was job hunting, so it wasn’t a problem…

“Goddamn it! I can’t believe this!”, was the first thing Bea was met with when she entered the store. It was Jenny. She was mad about something, and she was afraid to find out what. She became even more afraid when she heard something crash to the ground.

“You, pick that up, now!” Now Bea was really scared. She needed to find out what was wrong.

It didn’t take long to find Jenny through the sound of her making a scene.

“Jenny! What the hell is going on?!”, called Bea when she came into view.

“It’s all fucking ruined!”, yelled Jenny.

“Well, destroying the store isn’t going to fix anything!”

“It doesn’t matter! Nothing’s going to fix this! I’m fucking screwed!”

“Just calm down, and tell me what happened.”, pleaded Bea.

Jenny took a few deep breaths, “This morning, I was looking around like you said. I got an early start, too. I just wasn’t having luck. No one would interview me, but this one place was giving me a chance. I went in, and as soon as I sat down with the interviewer, I found out why no one was accepting me.”

“And why would that be?”, asked Bea.

“They know who I am! It turns out, one of my older employees managed to work his way up in one of the big restaurants. Now, every decent place knows not to hire me!”

_“Shit. This is bad. What do I do?”_ , wondered Bea.

“Uh, who is this person exactly?”, she asked.

“His name’s William. He works at that Italian restaurant down the street.”

“How about…”, Bea sighed, “…I’ll go talk to him.”

“Fine, whatever. It’s not like it’s going to do anything.”

“Come on, you’re coming with me.”

“Wait, what? Who’s gonna run the store?”

“Our employees aren’t completely incompetent. They’ll be fine for a little while by themselves.”

“Okay…”

“Come on, let’s go.”, commanded Bea. Jenny and she left the store and got in Bea’s car. Bea drove them to the restaurant. It didn’t take long to make it there.

As the two were walking in, Bea asked, “So, what’s this guy’s last name? Also, what position is he in exactly?”

“He’s the general manager of this place. He takes care of the business side of things, like watching the budget and deciding pay rates for the employees. I don’t know what his last name is.”, Jenny explained.

“Did he not have a name tag or something?”

“I only read the first name.”

“Well, I guess we’ll find out then.”

Bea entered the store, Jenny following behind, and they walked up to the front desk.

“Hello, welcome. Would you two ladies like a seat?”, asked the lady at the desk.

“No, actually. I would like to speak with the manager.”, requested Bea.

“Oh, is something wrong?”

“That’s for him to decide. Now, get me the manager.” Bea used a more demanding tone this time.

“Okay, I’ll be right back with him.”

It took a few moments, but William soon appeared.

“Oh, it’s you again. I see you brought a friend this time. I’m honestly surprised you have any of those.”, said William, as he strode up to them.

“Hm, I’ve never seen someone use insults to greet a potential customer before. I’m not sure that’s a great way to go about it, but hey, what do I know about business?”, replied Bea.

“Ooh, sassy. Who might you be, and what in the world compelled you to go with this girl anywhere, let alone a fancy restaurant?”

“My name is Bea. I’m the new manager at the hardware store down the road. I believe you used to work there, yes?”

“Why, yes, I did use to work there, until some crazy lady, not saying who, fired me for dropping a water bottle and creating a ‘mess’, which was actually nothing more than some spilled water.”

Bea shot Jenny a strange look, and she seemed embarrassed by the situation.

“Okay, I’m just gonna cut straight to the point. I know about what happened earlier today, and I think you were being a bit unfair toward Jenny.”

“You think _I_ was being unfair? Did you not hear what I just said? She’s crazy! If I hire her, she’ll probably cost me thousands of dollars.”

Bea sighed, “Can I talk to you alone somewhere?”

“If you really want to, I’ll take you to my office. I seriously doubt you’ll be able to change my mind, though.”

William took Bea to his office, shutting the door behind them.

“So, go ahead. Try to change my mind.”, said William.

“Okay, I know Jenny can be a bit… overwhelming sometimes, but that’s only when she’s at work.”

“If I hired her, this would be work.”

“That’s not what I meant. Look, she hates her job, and she’s under a lot of stress from her father to not fail at it. I’ve seen how she can be when she’s cooking, and I think you should really give her a chance. She’s not a bad person, she’s just misguided.”

“I can’t risk having someone with the type of history she has work here. If she decides to have one of her outbursts here, it could cost us thousands if it’s bad enough.”

“I know it sounds risky, but if you hire her, you won’t just be helping her. You’ll be helping all of the people, including me, that have had our jobs, our livelihoods put on the line because Jenny isn’t cut out for that type of job.”, argued Bea.

“That’s not my problem. I have to do what’s best for this restaurant.”

“Please. I know you barely know me, but I promise you won’t be disappointed if you just let her try. She wants this, I want this, and I think you want it, too, even if you don’t know it yet.”

“How would you know what I want?”, questioned William.

“Trust me, I’ve worked in business all my life since high school, hell, even before that. I once had to keep an employee who was a pedophile, because they were my best worker, and they tried to seduce me constantly. Even if you think Jenny is an asshole, that doesn’t mean she can’t do good work for you. You’re doing yourself a disservice by not seeing what she’s got to offer you.”

William was silent, contemplating for a moment before he answered, “…Did you really keep a worker that wanted to…”

“Yes, I did.”

“…And he was actually a good worker?”

“Yes, he was.”

“Well, goddamn… Fine, I’ll take her to see the head chef. I’ll see what he has to say about her cooking and if it’s good enough… I’ll consider hiring her.”

“Thank you. You won’t be disappointed.”

“I hope I’m not.”

With that, William took Bea back up to the front, where Jenny was waiting.

William sighed, “Bea has convinced me that I should give you a shot. Come on back. The lunch rush won’t start for another few hours. I’ll take you to meet our head chef, and we’ll go from there.”

Jenny brightened up, “Really? Oh, thank you, Bea. I can’t believe you’re still doing this stuff for me.”

“Hey, I’ve actually gotten to know my employees a bit over the past few days. I’d say this is good for both of us.”, replied Bea.

“I won’t forget this, I promise. I’ll tell you how it goes tomorrow. You should probably get back to the store.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that. I’ll see you around.”

“Yep.”

Bea left the restaurant. The rest of the day went by as normal. When she went to pick Mae up, she seemed more tired than usual.

“Hey, Maeday. You seem really tired. Is everything alright?”, Bea asked.

“No, it’s just we had another stupid challenge today. We were working our asses off more than usual.”

“What was it?”

“We were putting roofs on buildings. We got an apartment building. We were really high up all day, which was kinda cool, but also kinda scary. I was really happy I did all of that climbing on telephone wires and stuff, so I was used to it.”

Bea felt a twinge of worry pulse through her, but she quickly reminded herself that she knew Mae would be doing things like this when she let her apply for the job. It was just something she’d have to get used to.

“How did you do?”, asked Bea.

“Well, another person’s roof collapsed, so I think we’ll be fine this time. It’s weird. We only just started this, but it feels like we’re almost done. There’ll only be two groups besides us left after today, and it seems like we do this every Monday, so two more weeks, and we’ll see if we stay or not.”

“I know you can make it. It seems like you’ve got good people with you.”

“Yeah, I do. They’re all really cool. Hey, wait, I just realized something.”

“What is it?”

“Next Thursday’s Longest Night! We still have to get presents and decorations and stuff! How are we gonna get a tree into our apartment?!”

“Mae, calm down. We’ll go and do all of that this weekend, okay? We’ll make it in time. It’s not like we have tons of people to buy presents for.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll be fine. I can’t believe it came so fast.”

“A lot’s happened in the past few weeks. We’ve been busy.”

“Yeah. A lot’s happened. Ugh, now I need to think of good presents to get you, Gregg, Angus, my parents, aunt mall cop. I think Gregg’s already got me beat on Angus’ present, though. I mean seriously, a freakin’ computer? How expensive can a high-end computer be?”

“It’s expensive. Depending on the model, they can cost thousands of dollars. That’s why Angus usually builds his own. It’s cheaper that way. He is pretty stingy when it comes to upgrading his computer, though.”

“Hey, that’s better than us. We don’t upgrade our computers, period.”

“We have laptops. We’re not using them to play super demanding games or anything.”

“Yeah. Demontower doesn’t require much to run. Still, we’re getting off topic. Presents. I need to think of gifts to get everyone.”

“Well, you have all week to think about it.”

Mae sighed, “Yeah. That doesn’t make it any less difficult.”

“I know. Don’t worry, we’ll like whatever you get us, even if we don’t.”

“Thanks, Beabea. I appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it.”


	25. Longest Night Shopping

Like Bea had promised, Mae and she were now going shopping for Longest Night decorations and gifts. They were currently in their car on the way to the mall.

“So, has Jenny gotten back to you on that new job of hers yet?”, asked Mae.

“No. She said I probably wouldn’t find out until next week. They’re putting her through some work to see if she can do the job.”, replied Bea.

“Oh, okay.”

A few moments of silence passed between the two.

“Hey, remember when we went to the Fort Lucene Mall?”, asked Mae.

“Yeah. What about it?”, questioned Bea.

“Well, we’re going to a mall now. Doesn’t it feel… what’s the word…?”

“Nostalgic?”

“Yeah, that’s it! Nostalgic. It feels kinda nostalgic, don’t you think?”

“I guess. This mall isn’t dying, though. That means there are going to be lots of people there, so no shoplifting, okay?”, requested Bea.

“Aw man, but shoplifting is so much fun. You were great at it!”

“I don’t know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment.”

“Trust me, it’s totally a compliment.”

“If you say so. Still, no shoplifting.”

“Fine.” Mae pouted next to Bea as she drove. Then, she started sniffing around a bit.

“Um, what are you doing?”, asked Bea.

“Something doesn’t smell right.”, answered Mae.

“Really? I don’t smell anything.”

“Exactly. Why don’t I smell… wait. I haven’t seen you smoke once since we got to Bright Harbor.”

“I quit, or at least I’m trying to.”

Mae gasped, “That’s great! Why now, though?”

“Why not now? We have a new life here, so I wanted to try and start completely fresh, and that meant kicking my smoking addiction.”, Bea explained.

“Wow. I thought it was, like, impossible to quit smoking. Everyone I know who’s tried to quit always fails after a few weeks.”

“Well, I’m not through yet. I still get cravings, especially during work, but I can’t let it take me back. I’m doing this.”

“See, I knew you were badass. I can’t believe I never noticed until now.”

“I’m surprised, too. I mean, I thought you would have noticed that I didn’t have one. I used to always have a cigarette around you.”

“Eh, it doesn’t really matter now. I think it’s great that you’re trying to quit.”

“Thanks. Now that I have you cheering me on, I know I can quit.”

“Yeah, that’s the spirit!”, cheered Mae.

Mae and Bea soon arrived at the mall. It was very packed.

“Why are there so many people?”, asked Mae.

“It is the weekend before Longest Night. A lot of people still need to buy gifts and stuff, just like us.”, answered Bea.

“Aw man, why’d we have to forget? It’s going to take forever to get everything we need!”

“How about this. Take this money,” Bea handed Mae a bunch of money out of her wallet, “And go buy some gifts for everyone. I’ll go get decorations. We can say that the gifts are from both of us. That’ll make everything easier.”

“Okay, sounds great… Wait, no, it’s not great! Why do I have to pick out gifts?! You did this on purpose, didn’t you?!”, but Bea was already gone. She had gone and left Mae with the hardest job while exempting herself from having to buy any of the gifts.

“Ugh, I hate trying to find good gifts for people.” Mae sighed, “Oh well, I guess I’d better get started.”, and thus, Mae’s journey into the depths of the mall began.

_“Alright. I need to get gifts for mom, dad, aunt mall cop, Gregg, Angus, Bea, and Lori. How much money do I have?”_

Mae counted up the money Bea gave her, coming to a total of about 750 dollars.

_“Remember your math skills, Mae. 750 divided by 7 people is about… a little over 100 per person. Huh, not bad. Where did all of this money come from? Is this from our savings, or is this just all from Bea’s job somehow?”_

Mae decided not to question it and get started on shopping. Where would she go first? She decided to look at one of the directories that happened to be near here.

“Okay, what am I close to that might have something that I could get?”

After scanning the map for a few moments, she found something.

_“Oh, there’s a cool horror shop just down here. I could probably find some fake blood or something for Lori there. How do you even keep a horror shop open during Longest Night season? That seems more like a Harfest thing. Whatever, as long as it has what I’m looking for, I shouldn’t be complaining.”_

Mae went down to the horror store, and sure enough, there was all sorts of cool stuff to be bought. The only problem was how obviously fake a lot of it was. Nothing here would be used in a professional film production. In the end, Mae just decided to get some fake blood and leave. It wasn’t until after she left that she realized her mistake. She would have to carry around a heavy bucket of blood around for the whole trip.

“Are you kidding me, brain? Why did you only think of this now?”, Mae muttered despairingly to herself.

“Whatever. It’s too late now.” Mae decided to move on and see what else she spotted as she walked. The next store to catch her attention was one for collectible weapons. There were swords, guns, and most importantly, knives.

_“Aw, yeah, those have Gregg written all over them!”_

The question now was, what kind of knife was she going to buy? She knew a bit about knives from when Gregg would talk about them, but that was it. She was clueless as to what he would want.

_“He’d probably want something he could carry on him. He keeps 2 in his jacket at all times. He might appreciate a third. You know, just in case he loses the other 2 somehow. They do have some pretty cool pocket knives here, and I did only spend, like, 20 dollars on the fake blood for Lori. Hmm…”_

There were so many knives adorning the shelves, and Mae thought they all looked so cool. One did manage to catch her eyes more than the others, though. It had a pearly, silvery-white handle, and etched on the stainless-steel blade were the words ‘Your life is worth protecting.’ in an elegant cursive font.

_“It really is beautiful. I bet he’d love it.”_ The words on the blade were hitting close to home for Mae. She remembered the conversation she had with Gregg back in the woods.

_I’m just parking lot trash. I’ve known that all along._

With that in mind, she picked up the knife. It was 150 dollars. Sighing, she decided to buy it anyways. She still had some extra from Lori’s purchase, after all. With that, she left the store.

That was 2 down, and 5 to go.

The next store she came across was an electronics store. She knew she’d find something for Angus there.

_“You know Angus likes computers, but that isn’t really going to help you. You don’t know anything about computers or what he needs.”_ , thought Mae.

_“Gregg’s getting him a new computer, right? What else might he need?”_

_“How about a monitor? Is the computer Gregg’s getting him going to have one already?”_

_“Whatever, just get one. People use multiple monitors for their computers. That’s a thing.”_

Luckily for Mae, the price of high-quality computer parts had gone down substantially in the past 5 years. She was able to find what looked like a decent monitor for only 100 dollars. Upon asking an employee, they confirmed that it was, in fact, a good budget monitor.

With the purchase of a monitor, Mae only had to buy things for her family and Bea. What would she get for them, though?

_“Jewelry’s too predictable. I wonder if mom and dad replaced the coffee maker, yet?”_ Mae had broken her parents’ coffee maker only days before she left. She had wanted to try coffee before work, but she swapped the places of the water and coffee mix, short-circuiting it. 

_“Damn, I wish I had a phone, so I could ask. Oh well, I guess I can get one and pray that they haven’t gotten another one. That could work as a gift for both of them. I’ll have to send it tonight.”_

Somehow, as Mae thought of this, she passed by a general appliance store. They would surely have a coffee maker. She settled for a decent 70-dollar coffee maker. Now, she only needed gifts for Aunt Molly and Bea, and she still had almost 400 dollars left.

_“These two are going to be the hard ones. What would aunt mall cop even want? What if I got her that battle axe I mentioned that one time? Nah, that’s probably too expensive. Wait, I’ve got it! I’ll get her an air freshener! Seriously, every time I’ve been in that cop car, it’s smelled terrible. She said it’s from all of the drunks that have thrown up in her car. Man, I really am a genius.”_

Going back into the appliance store, they had some air fresheners at the front counter. Mae took one and purchased it. It was only a few dollars, but she knew she’d probably appreciate it.

“Okay, all that’s left is to get Bea a gift.”, Mae muttered to herself, “Again, jewelry is too predictable. What’s something that she really wants or needs?”

A thought popped into the back of Mae’s mind, _“What she’d really like is a college acceptance letter, but no, you took that letter instead, and you wasted it.”_

_“Shut up, not now. It’s over. She’s fine. She understands. Nobody cares anymore, so I shouldn’t, either.”_

“I’m not a failure.” Mae found that she had said that aloud, though quietly. No one seemed to hear her. Saying it out loud helped her push the bad thoughts away. Now, she was back to thinking about what to get for Bea. She needed to think fast. All of the stuff she was carrying was beginning to become a bit much for her.

_“Think, think, think… Wait, how much money do I have left?”_

Mae counted through her money. She had almost 390 dollars. She looked back to where she had come from the electronics store.

_“What if I got her a phone? She could definitely use one of those! Yes, it’s perfect! I can get her a really nice phone! I know we talked about it before.”_

With that, Mae rushed to find a good phone for Bea. Luckily, all of the phones weren’t completely sold out, despite it being the weekend before Longest Night. With the last of her money, Mae bought the best smartphone she could along with a case. She kind of wished she could get a phone, but she pushed those thoughts aside. This was about giving, not getting.

With that, she went back to the exit where Bea had parked, and she was there, waiting. She did her best to conceal the phone beneath all of the other stuff she had bought.

“Wow, that’s a lot.”, commented Bea.

“I know. Of course, I decided to get the bucket of blood first. I had to carry it around with me the whole time.”

“Who is that for?”, asked Bea.

“Lori.”

“Really? I didn’t think you’d get her a gift.”

“Why not? We’re good friends. If I knew where Germ was, I’d have gotten him something, too.”

“Okay. Well, I already put the decorations in the car. Here, let me take some of that.”

When Bea went to take some stuff, Mae made sure not to give her the phone out of fear that she’d ask who it was for.

Bea looked at the knife, “This is for Gregg, I’m assuming?”

“Yeah.”

“How about the monitor?”

“Angus.”

“You got an air freshener?”, questioned Bea.

“Yeah. That’s for aunt mall cop’s police car. I’m telling you, that thing smells horrible.”

“How would you know?”

“I’ve… been in it before.”, answered Mae, embarrassed.

“Yeah, that doesn’t really surprise me.”

“Come on. Let’s stop talking about the gifts and go. This blood is still heavy, you know.”

“Alright.”

Before heading back to the apartment, Mae had Bea take her to the post office, so she could send her parents the coffee maker and the air freshener along with a short note explaining what they were for.

Mae was able to avoid letting Bea see the phone until they got home, where she hid it in the basket of clothes that Mae was too lazy to put in their dresser. When it was done, she sighed with relief.

The rest of the day was spent helping Bea put up decorations, including the tree. It was fake. It had to be. There was no way they’d be able to get a real tree into the apartment.

By the end of the day, all of the decorations were set, leaving the two a day to rest on Sunday. Then, it would only be a few more days of work until it was Longest Night. Mae was very excited.


	26. Things are Looking Up

Monday rolled around again, once again bringing with it a new week of work. As usual, Bea dropped Mae off at her job before heading off to her own. Today would probably be the day she would find out if Jenny got accepted as a chef or not. It was stressful. She knew that if it fell through, there would probably be little hope afterward.

Walking in, Bea immediately began her daily duties. She checked on workers, stocks, etc., and she made adjustments where needed, just like any other day. It wasn’t long, however, before Jenny came in. She didn’t look upset. In fact, she seemed happy. Bea hoped that meant her efforts had paid off.

“Hey, Jenny.”

“Hi, Bea. How are you?”

“Good. So, how’s the job coming along?”, asked Bea.

Jenny grinned, “I’m in!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

“That’s great! Congratulations!”

“Yep. I guess that means I can quit now. I’m going to have to deal with my dad later, but that doesn’t matter right now.”

“Oh, wow. This is happening pretty fast, huh?”, said Bea.

“I know, right? Well, here’s my badge.”, replied Jenny.

“You know, you’re supposed to give 30 days notice before you quit.”

Jenny looked horrified for a moment.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure everything out. Go and enjoy your new job.”

“Uh, yeah, I will! Thank you for everything!”

“Eh, don’t mention it. You aren’t really that bad. Just try not to get yourself fired, and like I said, it might be good to work with a professional on your anger management.”, recommended Bea.

“That might be a good idea.”

“Well, don’t let me keep you from your job.”

“R-right. Um, goodbye.”

“Bye. Good luck.”

Jenny walked toward the door, “You, too.” She waved at Bea.

Bea waved back and watched as the doors closed behind her. It was slightly bittersweet to see her go.

Now that Jenny was gone, Bea would need a new assistant manager, and she knew just the guy. Looking in the nails section, she saw a familiar face from her first day. It was Danny.

When Danny saw her, he waved, “Hey. I heard what happened. She’s finally gone, huh?”

“Yep. I did it. It didn’t exactly go how I thought at first, but hey, things rarely do.”

“Mhm. So, I guess you need to find a new assistant manager now, right?”

“You would be correct. I think I might have someone in mind.”, said Bea.

“Really? Who?”, asked Danny.

“How about you?”

Danny seemed shocked, “Wait, me? Why?”

“I don’t know. I figured I’d give you a chance. You could use the money, right?”

“Oh, yeah, but I don’t know how good I’d be.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’m giving you an opportunity. The only way you’re going to get ahead in life is by taking chances like these. Most people don’t get to move straight from shelf stocker to assistant manager. Just take it. If you question it too long, I’ll just find someone else.”

“O-okay! I’ll take it!”

“Good.”, replied Bea.

“Wow. So, that’s it? I’m just assistant manager now?”

“Well, not officially. I need to do some paperwork, but I can have it done by your next paycheck.”

“I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”, said Danny.

“Don’t get me wrong. If you can’t perform, I will get someone else. Personally, though, I think you’ll do fine.”

“What do we do about stocking the shelves, though?”, questioned Danny.

“Okay, you can keep doing that for now, and when I find a new shelf stocker, they can take over, and I’ll begin teaching you the ropes.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Danny was reeling from what had just been thrust onto him. His mind was in a frenzy. Bea decided then to just leave him to his work to process everything.

_“You did good.”_

_“I really did, didn’t I?”_

_“Yep. Think of all the lives you just improved.”_

Bea smiled. Even as a hardware store manager, she could still do good. Even if she lost her chance, she could still give other people a chance. It felt good. For the first time, Bea was content with her job.

While Bea’s day had been calm and happy, Mae’s was stressful. Today had been another day of their little game. Mae still thought of it as a game, at least, and it wasn’t one she enjoyed or agreed with. It was dumb, and it went against the point of an internship, but there was nothing she could do about it.

That day had been especially tough because the weather decided to be horrible. There were times where Mae felt close to falling off the building she was working on due to the wind, though after, she would always look and see that she wasn’t any closer to falling than she was before. The wind had only messed with her mind.

Mae felt confident that her group would get to stay. In fact, they were very close to actually being guaranteed a spot on the construction team. That day, there had been only three groups left, and one wouldn’t be back tomorrow. That meant only one more week before they would know if they made it or not.

After the day was done, Mae’s group got together and began talking.

“Whew, that was a hard day, huh?”, commented Gavin.

“Yeah, but we made it through. Tomorrow’s supposed to be better.”, said Jake.

“Good. Hey, are you guys ready for Longest Night?”, asked Julie.

“You know it!”, replied Gavin, “I can’t wait to go see my family and stuff!”

“Same here. It’s always nice to see family for the holidays.”, agreed Jake.

“How about you, Mae? What are your plans?”, asked Julie.

“Oh, me? Well, my family lives all the way in Possum Springs, so visiting them would be really hard. If I didn’t have this internship to worry about, I could just take a few days off and visit them, but I can’t really afford the time off.”, explained Mae.

“Aw, that’s too bad.”

“Possum Springs? I feel like I’ve heard of that place before.”, said Gavin, deep in thought.

“Yeah, that makes sense. It used to be a big mining town, but it’s dying now. That’s why I left.”, replied Mae.

“Oh, yeah, I remember now! I used to hear about that place when I was younger.”

“Okay, so what are you planning on doing instead?”, asked Julie.

“I was just going to spend time with my girlfriend and visit my friends that live above us. They’re practically family at this point, so there’s that.”

“Sounds fun. Did you get them any gifts?”

“Of course!”

“What kind of gifts?”, asked Gavin.

“I got my friend Gregg a really cool knife. He loves his knives. He never leaves home without them. I also got his boyfr-, I mean husband, who I am also good friends with, a computer monitor. He’s really into computers.”

“Nice. What about your girlfriend?”

“I got her a nice smartphone. I figured she could use a phone, especially since she’s a manager and stuff.”

“Cool. I got some pretty cool gifts to give, too.”, said Gavin.

“That’s always the best part, getting to watch your friends and family open their gifts.”, said Julie.

“I agree.” Jake sighed, “Well, I should probably get going. I’ve got things to do tonight.

“Oh, me, too. Uh, bye, I guess.”, said Gavin following behind Jake.

“So, Mae, are you leaving, too?”, asked Julie.

Just then, Bea’s car pulled up at the construction site.

“That would be a yes.”

“Well, bye, then.”

“Bye!”, replied Mae, running toward Bea’s car.

Mae quickly got in and shut the door.

“Hey, Maeday.”, greeted Bea, “How was work?”

“Good. We’re almost done with these stupid challenges. Only one more week left to go.”

“That’s good.”

“How about you? How was your day?”, asked Mae.

“Good. Jenny got the job at that restaurant.”

“That’s great! That means you don’t have to deal with her anymore, right?”

“Yep. It’s weird, though. It’s almost bittersweet seeing her go. She did make things interesting, even if it wasn’t in a good way. Now, things are just going to be boring all the time.”

“Just think of all the people you helped, including her.”, said Mae.

“Yeah, I know. It’s not like I’m devastated by her leaving or anything.”

“I get it. There are people I miss who used to be really annoying. You remember Scriggins?”

“Oh, god.”, replied Bea.

“Mhm. Yeah, he was an ass. I remember I would always tell him to bite my entire ass.” Mae laughed weakly, “God, I can’t believe I used to say stupid shit like that.”

“Used to?”

“Shut up. That’s not the point. What I was going to say was that somehow, I miss him a little bit.”

“Really? I don’t miss him at all. Then again, you probably saw him more than I did, since you hung out with Gregg and Casey back in High school.”

A pang of sadness and guilt struck Mae.

“Sorry. I know talking about Casey’s a bit… awkward.”, said Bea.

“No, it’s fine. I need to be able to talk about him at some point without making an ass of myself. Anyways, you were saying?”

“Uh, right. Well, I guess I can understand why you miss Scriggins, even if he was an ass.”

“So, it seems like things might finally become completely stable for us soon. You don’t have to worry about being fired anymore, and if I’m not fired next week, I’ll pretty much be set.”

“Huh. I didn’t think about it like that.”

“Yeah. It’ll be great. We won’t have anything to worry about except for each other.”

“You know, just because we have jobs doesn’t mean you can just start not caring, especially with jobs like ours. You have to worry about your safety, and I have to worry about making sure the store doesn’t fail.”, argued Bea.

“That’s not what I meant. That’s just normal life stress. What we’ve been dealing with is excess stress. Now, we can get rid of the excess stress.”

“I get it. So, are you ready for Longest Night?”

“Man, that’s only 3 days away.”

“Yep. It’ll be a jolly good time.”, said Bea with a twinge of sarcasm.

“You know it!”, replied Mae, “This’ll be our first Longest Night in Bright Harbor!”

“Yes, it will… We’ve really come a long way, haven’t we?”

“Yeah. Even after all of the shit we’ve been through, you, me, Gregg, and Angus, we all made it out of Possum Springs.”

“And we, despite my better judgment, decided to start a relationship.”, Bea added.

“Are you saying you didn’t think we’d make it?”

“Not at first. I wanted it from the beginning, but I wasn’t sure we’d last. I kinda figured one of us would become too much for the other.”, explained Bea.

“Well, I’m really glad that never happened.”, replied Mae.

“You’ve come close a few times, but I managed to endure it somehow.”

“You know, I wasn’t expecting this car ride to become a nostalgia trip.”

“Nostalgia trip? We’ve only been a couple for, like, a month. I don’t think that counts as nostalgia.”

“Whatever. I was referring to what I said about us escaping Possum Springs. That all started 5 years ago. That counts as nostalgia, right?”, questioned Mae.

“Five years is still a bit too recent to call it nostalgia. Give it, like, 5 more years. Then, I might call it nostalgia.”

“I think I could do 5 more years of this.”

“…Yeah. Me, too.”

It was then that they arrived at their apartment. That night, they sat together and watched tv until it was time to end the day by going to sleep. Mae fell asleep first. She had been tired from pushing her body to its limits all day. This left Bea to ponder a bit before she drifted off.

_“5 more years. What’s going to happen in 5 more years? What goals do I have to work toward? Where do I want to go after this?”_

These thoughts began swarming in Bea’s mind, filling her with unease.

_“I made it. We made it. We escaped Possum Springs, but what now? I’m still in my mid 20’s. What am I supposed to do with the rest of my life? I can’t just be a store manager. I can be more than that.”_

Back when she was in Possum Springs, Bea had a goal. She wanted to leave, but now, she had left, so what now? What was she doing this for? What was she working for?

_“Why am I having these thoughts now? Of all the times to have an existential crisis, now is not the time.”_

Bea kept asking questions without answering them, and they piled up, weighing her down more and more. There was no reason for her to be stressed out like this over something so small, but it just happened, and she couldn’t stop it.

_“Calm down. Think. Think of all of those people you helped. That’s reason enough to keep working. If that’s not enough, you still have something else to live for, to work for, and she’s sleeping right next to you. Just think of her.”_

_“No, I can’t. She’s a liability. What if she does something dumb again, and she actually gets hurt, or…”_

_“No! That won’t happen!”_

_“I… Yeah, I’m just being unreasonable. She promised me she would try to be more responsible, and I have to believe her.”_

_“There you go, then. She’s the person you’re working to support now. That’s why you’re going to wake up tomorrow and work hard at that hardware store.”_

With that, Bea had worked through her problem by herself. She looked at the clock. Luckily, it wasn’t too late. She could still get a good amount of sleep in, and she did. It didn’t take long for her to join Mae in her slumber. It would turn out to be another peaceful night for them both.


	27. Longest Night

Longest Night came very quickly after that Monday. The last two days of work before then were normal. Mae continued to learn about construction, and Bea was able to find a new shelf stocker. Now, they all had a well-deserved day off.

Mae, having been extremely excited for today, woke up first. Today was her first Longest Night in Bright Harbor, and her first with a girlfriend, or even boyfriend for that matter. Cole and she hadn’t lasted long enough to spend this day together.

Since she was up first, Mae thought it would be a good idea to wrap her one present for Bea and put it under the tree. It was then that she realized they didn’t have wrapping paper. For most, this would have been the moment they gave up on putting presents under the tree, but Mae was not most people. She would find a way to wrap this present and have it waiting under the tree by the time Bea woke up…

When Bea woke up, she felt weird. Something was off. She went to feel for Mae and found that she wasn’t there. It wasn’t normal for Mae to be the first one up. Today was Longest Night, though. Mae was probably just excited about the holiday.

Getting up, Bea went out into the living room. Mae was sitting on the couch, playing on her laptop.

Mae noticed when Bea walked in, shutting her laptop, “You're up! Great! Happy Longest Night!”

“Wow. You’re never the first one up. What changed?”, asked Bea.

“Oh, nothing. Just excited is all.”

“So, do you know if Angus and Gregg are up yet?”

Mae placed the laptop down and stood up, “Yeah, they are. I was just messaging them. Before we do that, though, I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“Oooh, I wonder what it is.”, replied Bea sarcastically.

Mae went over to the tree and took out the present she had bought, and it was wrapped in…

“Is that toilet paper?”, asked Bea.

“Yes, it is.”, replied Mae.

Bea began laughing, maybe a bit too hard, “Wow, that’s, uh, one way to wrap a present I guess. Did you not know where the wrapping paper was?”

“Wait, we have wrapping paper?!”, exclaimed Mae.

“Yes, we have wrapping paper. It’s in our closet.”

“No.”, said Mae, running to their room. She hadn’t even thought to check for wrapping paper because she didn’t remember seeing Bea with any. Sure enough, there it was, just sitting in the corner.

“Are you serious?”, said Mae.

“It’s too late now. Don’t worry, it’s fine. At least you tried.”

“Yeah, yeah. Here, just take it.” Mae handed the gift to Bea, and she was able to tear the toilet paper off with little trouble.

“Holy shit.”, said Bea, looking at the phone she held in her hands.

“So? What do you think?”, asked Mae.

“That’s why you only gave me back, like, 50 dollars. I knew the rest of that stuff didn’t come close to 700 dollars.”

Mae anxiously waited for her thoughts on the gift itself.

“Thanks. You don’t know how useful this is going to be.”

With that, Mae felt the weight lift from her immediately.

“Whew, I was worried you didn’t like it for a second there.”, said Mae.

“Please, what girl isn’t happy with a smartphone on Longest Night?”

“Yeah, I guess you have a point.”

“Okay. I can get this set up later. Now, can you wrap all of the gifts while I make something to take over to Angus’?”

“You got it.” Mae quickly got to work with wrapping everyone’s gifts. Without a doubt, the hardest was Lori’s. Buckets were hard to wrap, and by the time she was done, it looked like a hot mess, but at least she got the job done.

When Mae went to bring the presents out, she could smell cookies.

“Hey, those smell pretty good.”, said Mae.

“Thanks, but I just got store-bought cookie dough. I don’t know how to actually bake that well.”, replied Bea.

“Whatever. They still smell good. So, we still need to drop off Lori’s present.”

“Right. I almost forgot about that.”

After Mae brought all the presents out, and the cookies were done, Bea drove Mae to Lori’s to drop off her present. Mae had gotten Lori’s address beforehand through messaging her.

Lori lived in a dorm, so she had to go and find which one she was in. When she found it, she rang the doorbell. There was some shuffling from inside before Lori opened the door.

“Mae? What are you doing here?”, questioned Lori.

“Oh, I just wanted to drop this off.”, she handed the bucket to Lori, “I also wanted to wish you a happy Longest Night.”

“Oh, what’s this? It’s heavy.”

“It’s blood.”, answered Mae plainly.

“Wow, more blood. Geez, everyone keeps giving me blood, but no one ever thinks to get me a murder weapon, though I guess I could really use anything for that.”

“Oh, uh, sorry. I didn’t know you were getting blood already.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s a longer time before I need to get more, so that’s a plus.”

“Oh, okay. So, what are your plans today?”, asked Mae.

“Uh, actually, I’m going to hang out with some of my classmates at a small party.”

“A party? Wow, I remember when you freaked out after I invited you to Thanksgiving dinner, and now you’re going to parties?”

“Yeah, I’m trying to be more social.”, explained Lori.

“Well, good for you.”

“Um, is that all?”, asked Lori.

“Actually, I wanted to ask you something. You remember the night after Gregg and Angus got married, right?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“I remember I told you that if you wanted to know what we were talking about, with Casey and stuff, you could message me about it, but you never did. Why is that?”

“Oh, um, I guess I just didn’t really want to get involved. It sounded like a lot, and it definitely sounded like something you’d keep between you four. I would feel uncomfortable if I just asked about this big secret.”

“That’s fine. You don’t have to know. It might be better not to know, actually.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, that’s it, I guess. Um, like I said, happy Longest Night. Good luck with that party.”

“Thank you, and happy Longest Night to you, too.”

Mae waved as she left, and Lori waved back before closing the door.

After that, Mae and Bea went back to the apartment, grabbed the presents and the now cold cookies, and went upstairs to Gregg and Angus’ room, knocking on the door.

Angus opened the door, “Oh, hey, you two. Come on in.”

Bea entered, followed by Mae. When Gregg saw who it was, he got excited.

“Mae’s here!”, he yelled, running up and giving Mae a quick hug.

“What. I don’t get a hug?”, asked Bea sarcastically.

“Do you want one?”, asked Gregg.

“Nah, I think I’m good.”

Gregg shrugged, “Suit yourself.”

“Come on, guys. I’ve got gifts here that need opening.”, said Mae, holding up the two gifts she got for Gregg and Angus.

“Oh, yeah. We can open all of the gifts now.”, said Gregg, “Hold on, I’ll be right back.” He ran off into another room.

Mae got the gifts laid out on the table. Angus took out some gifts and placed them on the table as well. He wasn’t sure what Gregg was doing since he had Mae and Bea’s gifts on the table already.

When Gregg came back out with a large present, Angus seemed very surprised.

“Aw, yeah, here we go. I got you a little something, cap’n.”

“You got me something?”, questioned Angus.

“Don’t you two normally get things for each other?”, asked Mae.

Gregg answered, “Not usually. We stopped getting gifts a few years ago because we hated trying to guess what each other wanted and then having to act happy if we weren’t excited about what we got. We figured we’d just skip the stress and only get gifts when we know the other person wants something and we want to surprise them. This kind of goes against that, but who cares. I wanted to get this, so I did. End of story.”

Gregg pushed the present toward Angus expectantly, “Go on, open it.”

Angus felt bad now. Gregg had gotten him something, and he didn’t have anything to give him back. He looked at Gregg. He seemed so excited. Then, Angus realized he shouldn’t care. Gregg wasn’t expecting something in return. All he wanted right now was for him to be happy opening this present, so he did. When the present was fully unwrapped, Angus stared at it in astonishment.

This was a computer, and a pretty high-end one, too. It was definitely a model that had come out in the last few years. There was no way this was cheap.

“How much did this cost?”, asked Angus.

“Let me worry about that. I just want you to enjoy this gift. You know, I’ve always heard you playing those mmo’s or whatever in our room, and I’ve always wanted to join you, but we never had a second computer, so I couldn’t. Now, though, we have two computers. I figured you could just transfer your hard drive over to this one and put the one that comes with this in your old computer, and then I can use it. Think of all of the games we could play together!”

Angus was so happy. Gregg actually wanted to play his mmo’s with him. He always assumed that Gregg wouldn’t be interested in that type of game, but now he was being proven wrong. Then, he realized something.

“Wait.”, he turned the box around, “This doesn’t come with a monitor.”

“What?!”, replied Gregg. Sure enough, the box said, ‘does not include monitor’. “What kind of computer doesn’t come with a monitor?! That’s bullshit!”

“Wait, I can fix this. Angus, open up your present.”, said Mae.

“Huh?”, replied Angus.

“Just do it!”, demanded Mae. Angus pulled his other present over to him and opened it, uncovering the computer monitor it held inside.

“Oh, my god. Mae, you’re a lifesaver!”, exclaimed Gregg.

“I know. I’m pretty great, aren’t I?”

“Wow. That was really convenient.”, said Angus.

“I know, right?”

“Gregg, open up your gift!”, urged Mae.

“I hope it’s good.”, said Gregg, excitedly tearing off the wrapping paper to reveal a wooden box. Upon flipping the box open, he gasped, “Holy shit!” He pulled out the knife, closely examining it.

“So? I knew as soon as I saw that knife that you would love it. Was I wrong?”, asked Mae.

“Hell, no! This thing is effin’ sweet! Wait, what does it say?” Gregg noticed the words and read them to himself. His expression softened as he read.

“Wow. This really is perfect.” Gregg took off his jacket, showing off the two knife holsters he had inside. He took one of them off and placed the one the new knife came with inside. He put the knife in, and it slid in effortlessly. “There. Now, I’ll have it with me wherever I go.”

“Well, I think it’s time for you two to open our gifts to you.”, said Angus, sliding the two presents over to Mae and Bea.

Mae opened hers first. It was a copy of the new Demontower game that Mae could play on her laptop. “Aw, yeah! Imma play the hell out of this! Thanks!”

Bea then opened hers. It was a new lighter. “Um, Angus, I told you I quit smoking, right?”

“Shit. Sorry, that was my fault.”, said Gregg, “Angus had me get you a present.”

“It’s my fault for not checking it. Sorry, Bea.”, said Angus.

“No, it’s fine. Mae got me a smartphone, so I’m pretty good on gifts this year.”

“Woah, really, Mae?”, replied Gregg.

“Yep. I had a bunch of money left after buying all of the other gifts, so I just blew the rest of it on her.”

“Did Bea get you anything?”, asked Gregg.

“I don’t know. Did you, Bea?”

Bea smirked, “Actually, I did, and I have a feeling you’ll really like it.”

“Oh, what is it?”, asked Mae eagerly.

Bea reached into her pocket and pulled out a small mistletoe, and before Mae could say anything, she held it over them.

“You know what they say about mistletoes, right?”, said Bea. Mae began blushing, her face turning completely red.

“W-wait, this is happening?”, said Mae.

“That’s for you to decide.”

Mae looked at Gregg and Angus, who were both smiling joyously. Everyone was waiting for her to do it. After a moment to fully process everything, Mae finally went in. Her lips met Bea’s as they initiated their first kiss. Gregg cheered raucously.

The next few moments flew by in an instant, and suddenly, Mae and Bea weren’t kissing anymore. Mae wasn’t sure what had just happened, but she knew she wanted more. For that short period of time, Mae hadn’t felt anything else except her love for Bea. For a few moments, all of the stress of life drained away, leaving only pleasure.

“Wow.”, was all Mae could say.

Bea smiled and went down to pick up the mistletoe, which she had dropped as soon as the kissing began. She placed it back in her pocket, “I think I’ll save this for later.”

“How was your first time?”, asked Angus.

“Just, wow.”, said Mae again.

“It was… nice. I’d do it again.”, said Bea.

“Of course, it was great!”, exclaimed Gregg, “Once you go gay, there’s no going back!”

“I don’t think it was the being gay part that made is so great.”, replied Mae.

“Whatever. I still stand by my statement.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

“Is that Matthew?”, asked Angus as he went to get the door.

“Matthew’s coming?”, questioned Mae.

“Yeah. Angus is really his only family now, so he’s coming here.”, answered Gregg.

When Angus came back, sure enough, Matthew was behind him. Everyone said hi as he came in.

“Wait, what about Jen and your parents? Are they coming, too?”, asked Mae.

“No. My parents live really far away. It was a huge hassle just to get them over here for my wedding. I just told Jen to go visit them, and that we’d skype them later after you’re gone.”

“So, Matthew, how have things been?”, asked Angus.

He simply answered, “Good.”

“I’m glad you could make it. I was wondering, would you want to come for new year’s, too?”

“Actually, I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“You know how I used to be in the army, right?”

“Yeah. What about it?”, questioned Angus.

“Well… they want me back, and I said I’d come back.”

Angus became noticeably more sullen, “Oh… When are you leaving?”

“Next week… two days before the new year.”

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became somber.

“Oh, okay.”, replied Angus.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s hard, but honestly, it’s hard trying to live a normal life out here after being out there. I don’t have PTSD or anything, but it’s just, nothing feels as… fulfilling? I’m not sure what it is.”

“No, it’s fine. I guess this is probably the last time I’ll see you for a while, then?”

“Most likely. I have to prepare to leave after today.”

Angus sighed, and then he put on a smile, “I guess we’ll just have to make the most of tonight, then, won’t we?”

Matthew smiled back in appreciation of his brother’s understanding, “Yeah, I guess we will.”

The rest of the night was filled with fun and games. Mae and Bea stayed until around 5 in the afternoon. They then left so that Gregg and Angus could get in contact with Gregg’s parents to spend some time with them.

As Mae walked out, she realized that that would be the last time she saw Matthew before he left to join the military again. They hadn’t gotten especially close, but she still considered him a friend.

“I can’t believe he’ll just be gone after today. I’m kinda used to seeing Matthew every once and a while. He’s nice.”, said Mae as Bea and she went back to their apartment.

“I know. It’s sad, but we have to respect his decision. Besides, this has to be infinitely harder for Angus.”

“Yeah, I know. It just feels weird that we’re just leaving him without some grand goodbye or something.”

“A lot of the time, we don’t get to have those grand goodbyes. We just have to accept that he’s leaving and hope he makes it back.”

“I guess.”

With that, Mae and Bea went into their place and enjoyed the rest of Longest Night together. To Mae, it felt ironic that Longest Night could feel so short. Before she knew it, it was time to go to sleep. Thinking back on the day, it had been an exceptional one. She had gotten to kiss Bea, and that was reason enough to consider it one of her best days ever. Besides Matthew leaving, everything about the day was great. She went to sleep with a warm feeling in her chest. Things were finally beginning to go well for her.


	28. Tragedy

It was Friday. That meant that Mae and Bea only had to make it through one more day before they could enjoy their weekend together. For Mae, though, today was almost as stressful as she knew Monday would be. It would be the last day of work before it would be decided whether she would get this job or not. It would be her last day to prepare with her group before the big day.

Other than that, the day went by as normal. The morning routine hadn’t changed. Before she knew it, Mae was at work, and Bea was driving away. She went and found her group. Today, they would begin to learn how to operate some of the heavier machinery.

“Wow. Today is our last time together before the big day.”, Gavin pointed out.

“Do you think we’ll be able to win?”, asked Julie.

“I think we can do it. We just have to do the same as we’ve always done. We work together well. All we need to do is put forth our best effort.”, assured Jake.

“Are you sure? What if the other team is better than us?”, questioned Mae.

“Then there’s nothing we can do about it. We only have until Monday. We’ve done everything we can to prepare ourselves.”

“Ugh, that’s not what I wanted to hear. I wish we just didn’t have to deal with that other group anymore. It’s been causing me too much stress.”

“I feel ya.”, agreed Gavin.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do to change the fact that we have to face them. Let’s just get our work done today and relax over the weekend.”, said Jake.

The next few hours were spent learning the ropes of driving some of the vehicles on the construction grounds. Presumably, they might be used in Monday’s challenge. Soon enough, it was lunchtime.

Mae’s group got together to eat their lunches.

“So, how was your guys’ Longest Night?”, asked Mae.

“It was great! It felt good to just relax with my family.”, said Julie.

“I totally bought all of the best gifts.”, said Gavin.

“What kind of gifts did you give?”, asked Jake.

“I bought my little brother a skateboard. I’m gonna teach him how to skate.”

“You skate?”, asked Mae.

“I sure do. I’m pretty good.”

“I had a friend that skated. He was really good at it.”, said Mae, solemnly remembering the times when Casey had tried to teach her how to skate.

“Had? What happened to him?”, asked Julie. Mae didn’t answer. “Oh. Sorry.”

“Yeah…” Suddenly, the conversation had become awkward.

“So, um, can we just keep talking about Longest Night and stuff? I can’t stand it when conversations become awkward like this.”, requested Gavin.

Everyone agreed, wanting to leave the touchy subject behind them. The rest of the time was spent sharing their experiences from the night before. It wasn’t long before their lunches were gone and it was time to get back to work. 

Hours continued to pass with nothing particularly interesting happening. The only thing that was worth mentioning was Mae’s unending stress. Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t stop thinking about Monday. It was driving her crazy.

_“You’ll be fine. There’s nothing you can do about it.”_

_“I know, but that just makes it more stressful.”_

_“You need to focus on your work. You’re operating heavy machinery. You could hurt someone.”_

_“I know. I don’t know what to do.”_

_“You need to get over it. It’ll all be over Monday.”_

_“What if I don’t make it? What job would I get?”_

_“Stop thinking like that. Have some hope.”_

_“I do have hope, but I’m scared. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost this job.”_

_“You’d figure it out. Right now, you need to do everything you can to keep this job.”_

_“You’re right, you’re right. Just focus.”_

But Mae couldn’t focus. She went through this exact conversation multiple times. The rest of the day dragged on for an eternity as she was plagued by these thoughts. Finally, through some form of willpower, Mae made it through to the end of the day. By then, her thoughts were running wild. She wanted more time to be with her team, to prepare, but the day was done.

Mae slowly walked back to Bea’s car. Before she reached the car, one last thought crept into her mind.

 

And at that moment, the same moment she thought that thought, she heard crashing in the distance. She spun around, and what she saw shook her to her core. One of the buildings on the site was collapsing. It was fairly close to her.

The feeling of horror became worse when she heard one of the other workers yell, “Holy shit! Some of the interns are in there!”

It couldn’t be her group. They hadn’t worked on that building at all. Mae’s legs moved on their own. They carried her, despite Bea’s protests, toward the building.

When Mae reached the building, she saw an entrance. She rushed inside, ignoring people’s attempts to stop her. She climbed through the rubble.

“Is there anyone in here?!”, she yelled.

She heard a small voice moan softly. Then, she saw an arm sticking out of the rubble. She cleared away the debris, which, thankfully, wasn’t too heavy, revealing the face of one of the interns from the other team. Mae grabbed her and slung her over her shoulders.

As Mae made her way back where she came, she could hear Bea crying out for her. She could see the entrance. She was almost there. The dust caused by the debris was causing her to cough uncontrollably by this point.

Mae made it out and placed the girl down, turning back to go in again, but to her dismay, what was left of the building crumbled before her eyes. There was nothing left for her to go into.

Mae felt the sorrow in her swell. She had only saved one person. She heard Bea running to her, yelling out her name. When she reached her, she nearly tackled her as she hugged her.

“Oh, my, god! Mae, why did you do that?” Bea was crying. Mae was surprised. She thought Bea was going to be mad at her.

“I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad. I just wanted to help.”

“I’m not mad. I want to be, but I can’t. Oh, god, I can’t believe you just did that. I want to be mad at you, but you may have just saved that girl, and I don’t know how to feel right now.”

Mae and Bea stood there in a warm embrace until ambulances arrived. By some miracle, the girl that Mae had brought out wasn’t mortally wounded, but the same couldn’t be said for the lifeless bodies that were dug up one-by-one from the pile of debris that laid in place of the building. Those bodies included those of the other interns.

Mae cried as each new body was uncovered. Somehow, she thought this was her fault. As soon as she had that thought, this happened. She shouldn’t have wished for them to be gone.

Finally, after paramedics checked to make sure Mae was okay to leave, Bea took her home. The car ride was silent. Mae didn’t have any more tears to shed. There was only one small solace to take from this tragedy. Mae no longer had to wonder whether she’d keep her job or not. The other competitors weren’t there anymore. This, however, did nothing to comfort Mae.

What had been explained to Mae by Harvey before she left was that the building had collapsed due to a structural weakness in the soil. He could tell just by looking at the ground. There was a small indentation in the ground where the soil had been loose, and no one saw it before it was too late. The company was going to get sued for sure.

Mae and Bea made it home. As they walked up the stairs to their apartment, they heard footsteps rushing down toward them. When they had made it to the second floor, Gregg burst out from the next flight of stairs.

“Mae! Oh, my god, are you okay?!”, asked Gregg, obviously worried.

“Uh…”, Mae started, but Gregg cut her off.

“Me and Angus just heard what happened on the news, like, two minutes ago!”

“What?” Mae had seen news reporters setting up at the scene of the tragedy. Luckily, doctors were busy checking her out, so she wasn’t swarmed by them, and by the time she left, they were too focused on other people to care when she walked off with Bea.

“I’m… fine.”, said Mae. Gregg could tell she wasn’t fine, though.

“Hey, I know it was really traumatizing and stuff, but at least you’re okay, right?”, said Gregg, putting on an awkward smile. Then, Angus appeared. He had gone slower than Gregg down the stairs.

“I guess… What about the others, though? What about the ones that died? They’re just… gone. I didn’t even know them, but that almost makes it worse. I’ll never know if they were good people or not, and I’m sure so many other people are losing someone great to them.”

“Hey, it’s not like there was anything you could do about it.”, argued Bea.

“That’s the worst part! It just happened! There was no reason! They didn’t deserve it! They were just there, and they died for it!” Mae was crying again, “The moment it happened, in my mind, I wished that they would be gone, and then… just like that, they were gone.”

There was silence for a moment, until Gregg said, “Hey, I’ve got the night shift in a few hours. How about you come and get drunk.”

“Gregg!”, yelled Bea, “Why would you think that’s a good idea?!”

“I’ll be there, so I won’t let her get too drunk. It’s just to take some of the pressure off.”

“She can’t just drink away her problems!”, argued Bea.

“Okay, fine, but I think that we should all be here for her right now. I need to work, so how about we just all go to the Moonlit Wonder and hang out there? You can all stay at the bar and drink non-alcoholic drinks, and we’ll all be there for Mae, okay?”

“I think that’s probably for the best.”, said Angus, “We’ve seen how Mae can get after times like this if we aren’t all there to keep her in check. Let’s all go with Gregg and hang there until Mae falls asleep or something.”

“Guys, you do know I’m right here, right?”, said Mae.

“Right, right. So, how about it? Do you wanna come hang out with me at my shift?”, offered Gregg.

Mae already knew her answer was yes. If anything could keep her from breaking down, it was being with Bea, Gregg, and Angus.

“Yeah. I’ll come.”

“Great! It’s settled, then. Go eat dinner and stuff, and I’ll come get you when we’re ready to go.”, said Gregg.

Bea took Mae up to their room and proceeded to make dinner. She made tacos because she knew they were Mae’s favorite. She felt bad that she couldn’t do more for her. Yesterday had been so great, and now this. At least it probably couldn’t get worse than a huge tragedy like that.

Mae ate the tacos thoughtlessly. Her face was blank the whole time she ate. Bea sat there, trying to think of something to comfort her, but she came up with nothing.

After dinner, Bea sat with Mae and watched tv until they got a knock at the door. It was time for them to go with Gregg and Angus to the bar. Bea silently prayed that tonight wouldn’t get any worse, and they left.


	29. Till Death Do Us Part Pt.1

The drive to the Moonlit Wonder was silent. Bea still couldn’t think of anything to comfort Mae. She just hoped that spending time with her would be enough.

_“Why are you being so useless right now?”_

_“I don’t know what to do!”_

_“Of course, you don’t. You’ve never known what to do. You’ve always just stood by and let things happen. You never offered any solutions to any of your or anyone else’s problems.”_

_“Because there were no solutions! There was nothing I could do about my mom dying, my dad breaking down, my future being taken from me!”_

_“That’s just what you tell yourself to-“_

_“No! I can’t get wrapped up in this conversation again. I need to focus on Mae. I need to make sure she’s okay. Just say something, anything.”_

“Mae? Are you okay?”

It took Mae a moment to answer, “Not really.”

“I’m sorry all of that had to happen.”

“Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

After saying that, Mae was suddenly reminded of aunt Molly. She had said those words to her. ‘All it takes is being in the wrong place at the wrong time.’ She realized just how right she was.

“Is there anything I can do for you?”, asked Bea.

“Just… be here.”

Bea simply nodded. They were now at the bar, right behind Gregg and Angus. The two got out and followed them inside. Gregg checked in while Mae, Bea, and Angus made their way over to the bar, sitting down next to each other.

The noise and flashing colors of the bar were comforting in a way to Mae. They drowned out the fact that she had just witnessed a bunch of people die.

Soon, Gregg came to the bar and went to the others.

“So, what would you like?”, asked Gregg.

“Just water.”, said Mae.

“Are you sure? We’ve got some pretty good non-alcoholic options here. I hear the punch is pretty good, as long as no one’s spiked it or anything.”, offered Gregg, trying to lighten the mood.

“No, just water, thanks.”

“Alright, suit yourself.” Gregg was back in a few seconds with a glass of water, sliding it in front of Mae.

“Would you two like anything?”, asked Gregg to Bea and Angus.

“No, I’m good.”, replied Angus.

“Yeah, I’ll wait on the drinks for a bit.”, agreed Bea.

“Okay. I’m gonna go serve these guys real quick. Be right back.” Gregg went over to two other guys who were at the bar to take their orders.

“Alright, Mae.”, started Angus, “I want you to tell me everything about what happened earlier. Don’t spare any of the details.”

“What? Why?”, questioned Mae.

“I think it’s best that we get everything laid out in the open where we can talk about it freely.”

“Alright, I guess.”

Mae explained everything in as much detail as she could. It had happened so fast for her that she had trouble remembering parts of it, but she did her best to fill in any holes in the story.

“…And then we left.”

Angus contemplated for a moment. Gregg had returned soon after Mae started, so he didn’t miss out on too much of the story.

“That really is a lot. The first step is talking about it, though. Do you feel better?”, asked Angus.

“… A little bit.”

“That’s good. We’re already making progress then.”

Bea looked on at Angus’ talk with Mae. She was jealous that he was already making an impact when she couldn’t do anything, but she was also glad that Mae was starting to get a bit better.

Angus was about to say something else when yells rang out throughout the bar. Everyone looked over and saw two people, one noticeably more drunk than the other, but not to the point of not being able to function properly.

“What the hell did I tell you?! You were supposed to have that money today!”, yelled the one guy.

“I’m sorry! Things just haven’t been working out lately! I promise I’ll pay you back!”, pleaded the other.

“That’s what you said three months ago!”

Gregg sighed, “Why can’t these people keep their shit out of here? If you’re going to argue about money, at least have the decency to do it outside.”

“I said I’m sorry! There’s nothing I can do!”

“If you can’t pay in money, you’re going to pay with your goddamn blood!” The aggressor threw a right hook into the other’s jaw.

“Son of a bitch. I guess I have to deal with this now.”, muttered Gregg, walking out to intervene.

“Bug, wait.”, Angus protested.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. We’re trained to deal with situations like this.”, assured Gregg. He went up to the two people, one of which was now on the floor.

“Hey, you two, stop fighting, or I’ll have to have you thrown out.”, warned Gregg.

“This isn’t any of your goddamn business, asshole. You’re probably just like the rest of the gay ass people in here. No sense of when to stay out of other people’s business.”

“I’m giving you one last chance to apologize and end the fight, or I’m calling security.”

“Fine. Have it your way. I’ll end this right now.” The man pulled out a knife. Gregg was horrified, and so were Angus and the others. Some of the other guests had started to notice the commotion as well.

“Sir, put the knife down. Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”, pleaded Gregg, slowly inching his way closer.

“You said to stop the fighting, and I’m stopping it right now!”

In only a second, so much happened. Gregg’s legs sprang toward them, and his hand reached into his jacket for the knife Mae had given him. The man on the ground attempted to shield himself with his arm. The other lunged forward, ready to bring his knife down on the defenseless guy on the ground.

Mae and Angus both sprang up, beginning to run toward the conflict. Bea sat in abject horror as all of these things happened at once.

The next second brought with it a living nightmare. Gregg landed in front of the man on the ground. His knife had just exited his jacket when the knife of the assailant plunged straight through his leather jacket and into his torso. Angus and Mae were stopped in their tracks as the man pulled the knife out, his face filled with sudden shock and regret, as Gregg clutched the wound. He took a step back before toppling over, his knife clattering as it hit the ground. The crowd began to panic and run in all different directions.

Mae’s thoughts were torn asunder.

_“No, this isn’t happening. This isn’t happening.”_

_“Why is this happening?”_

_“Gregg, no.”_

_“He’s going to die.”_

_“That man doesn’t even know us.”_

_“Please don’t die.”_

Angus screamed, “Gregg!!!” He ran to his side, kneeling down to meet his husband.

“Gregg, please, answer me!”, pleaded Angus.

“Angus?”, replied Gregg weakly.

“Oh, my god, you’re alive!”

“A-Angus, I don’t w-wanna die.” Gregg’s breath was shaky. He was terrified.

“You’re not dying! Somebody call an ambulance!”

The man with the knife finally made a move. He ran for the exit.

Mae saw this and yelled, “You motherfucker! Don’t you dare run away!” Mae gave chase.

“Mae, stop, get back here!”, Bea called as Mae ran. She got up and ran after her, picking up the knife Gregg dropped as she went. That man still had his knife. Why did Mae think it was a good idea to chase after him? All Bea knew was that she couldn’t afford to lose her, so she ran as fast as her legs could take her.

“Bug, you’re going to be fine. Help is coming, just stay with me.”

Then, somebody familiar came next to Angus. It was Andy Cullen, and he brought a first aid kit.

“Andy?”

“Yep, it’s me. I went and got the first aid kit. Could you undo his jacket for me?”, requested Andy as he went to find a gauze pad.

Angus nodded, unzipping Gregg’s jacket and sliding it down. When he saw how much red had already seeped into his shirt, his heart was crushed. It hadn’t even been 30 seconds, and he was already losing way too much blood. At this rate, Angus wasn’t sure how much longer Gregg would last.

“Here, I’ll apply pressure to the wound. You just focus on keeping Gregg calm. The lower we can get his heart rate, the slower he’ll lose blood.” Andy took the gauze pad, put it on the wound and placed all of his weight on it.

“H-how bad is it?”, asked Gregg. He tried to lift his head up, but Angus pushed it back down.

“Don’t move. It’s fine. You’re going to be fine. I’m here for you.” Angus held onto Gregg’s hand. He could tell Gregg was already beginning to fade. He grew more tired-looking by the second.

“Angus, I’m c-cold.” If Angus’ heart hadn’t completely broken already, it certainly had now. He was cold, and Angus could feel it, too. That meant they were almost out of time. Angus began to tear up.

_“Please, no, this can’t be happening! I can’t lose him! I need him!”_

All Angus could think to do now was bring Gregg close and wrap his arms around him. He cradled his head in one arm and placed the other over his chest. He held on as tight as he could, as if through sheer willpower, he could somehow manage to keep Gregg with him.

“Thank you. That feels better.”, said Gregg, barely audible. With the sound of music blasting through the club and the cries of panicked people, Angus was forced to read Gregg’s lips to know what he was saying.

Angus still couldn’t hear an ambulance. He had to start facing the possibility that Gregg could die here.

“G-Gregg, I love you!”, Angus was crying fully now.

“I love you, too.” Gregg’s voice wasn’t even a whisper anymore.

“Please don’t leave me.”, Angus begged, closing his eyes and bringing Gregg as close to him as he could. He received no answer. The sound of an ambulance could just be heard on its way.

Angus looked at Gregg. He wasn’t answering.

_“No. No, no, no, not now! The ambulance is almost here!”_

Angus desperately checked for a pulse, and when he managed to find one, small as it was, he felt, for an instant, overjoyed, before fear and desperation overwhelmed it. Until the ambulance arrived, Angus simply held Gregg close to him and kept two fingers on where he had found the pulse. Finally, after an eternity, paramedics burst through the door.

Gregg was immediately placed on a stretcher and taken into the ambulance. Despite the protests of the paramedics, Angus forced his way into the back with him. He was told to stand in the corner, so he wouldn’t get in the way, and he obliged.

Mae sprinted as fast as she could. She wasn’t going to let this man get away. She could hear Bea behind her yelling for her, but she ignored it and kept running. Finally, the man rounded a corner. When Mae rounded the corner, she saw that it had led into an alleyway with a dead end. Gregg’s assailant was trapped.

Before the man could say anything, Mae had him pinned to the ground. He struggled to free himself, to attack her with his knife, but Mae wouldn’t let him.

Mae growled and extended her claws, “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you right now!”

“It wasn’t supposed to be him, I swear!”, pleaded the man.

“That’s not an excuse! I’m going to rip your goddamn throat out!” Mae raised a hand, about to kill him, but there was a war going on inside her head.

_“Do it! Kill him!”_

_“I can’t! I’ll be arrested! My life will be ruined!”_

_“This guy may have just ended Gregg’s life and destroyed Angus’! Are you really going to let him get away with that?!”_

_“What about Bea? The police will deal with it. I can’t kill him.”_

_“Don’t you see? This guy, he’s taking away one of your only ties to reality! He’s just shapes. You don’t know him. Why does it matter if he dies?”_

Mae’s vision became clouded. Everything began to turn into shapes, and the ones she was on were insulting her, threatening her. She needed to get rid of them.

Mae screamed and swung down, but something caught her. She snapped her head back, and Bea was there, holding onto her arm, one of the few things in the world that wasn’t just shapes. Then, everything began to return to normal.

“Mae, what are you doing?!”

“I… I…” Mae couldn’t answer. Bea looked like she was about to say something when the man jerked his arm out of Mae’s grip and raised the knife. He swung for Mae’s neck, but Bea managed to pull her back just in time. It only grazed her face.

“Mae, get behind me, now!”, demanded Bea. She positioned her knife in front of her. The man stood and lunged at her. With adrenaline coursing through her, she dodged and went for a stab herself. The man tried to evade, but the knife tore through the arm with the knife in it. He screamed and dropped the knife. His arm was now useless. He went to pick it up with his other arm, but Mae pinned him up against the wall. After that, he finally gave up.

The police showed up soon after. They took him away and thanked Mae and Bea for their help before leaving.

Mae was the first to say something, “Bea, I’m so sorry, I-“

“Be quiet. We’ll talk about this later. Right now, we need to get to the hospital and make sure Gregg is okay.” Bea was definitely angry this time. Bea ran, and Mae followed her. They got back just in time to see the ambulance leave.

“Come on.”, said Bea, getting in her car. Mae got in, and Bea began following the ambulance.

Inside the ambulance, the doctors were doing their best to keep Gregg alive long enough to reach the hospital.

_Beep_

“You. Do you know this man’s blood type?”, asked one of the paramedics.

_Beep_

“B negative.”, answered Angus anxiously.

_Beep_

The person that was getting blood took the first pack of it that would work and began preparing to give Gregg a blood transfusion.

_Beep_

There was only one thing preventing Angus’ whole world from shattering, and that was the constant beeping of Gregg’s heart monitor.

_Beep_

Every beep kept Angus afloat in the sea of despair that threatened to drown him. 

_Beep_

If the beeping stopped, Angus knew he would break.

_Beep_

“Get this hooked into him” The beeping began to speed up.

_Beep_

“Got it.” Gregg’s heart was beating extremely rapidly. They were losing him.

_Beep_

The paramedics had just gotten the blood flowing into Gregg when there was a longer period of silence than normal. Then, a long, unending, high-pitched drone pierced Angus’ soul.

The beeping had stopped.

Gregg had flatlined.


	30. Till Death Do Us Part Pt.2

It was Friday at a high school in Possum Springs. The last bell had rung, and everyone was excited to get home, all except for one student, a shy and quiet boy. He was a junior at the time, and to him, home meant home to all of his suffering. He knew that as soon as he walked through the front door, he would be entering hell.

His name was Angus Delaney.

Actually, there was one more student to which going home wasn’t exactly at the front of his mind that day. He had followed Angus to his locker, and he now stood with two others around a corner, watching him. He sat behind Angus in algebra, where he spent most of his time looking at him instead of the teacher. Something about him was different than the other guys in the class, and today was the day he would confront him about it.

This young man’s name was Greggory Lee. The two who were with him were Mae Borowski and Casey Hartley.

“Come on, now’s your chance!”, said Mae.

“Yeah, everyone else is gone already!”, added Casey.

“I don’t know. Maybe, it can wait until Monday.”, replied Gregg, unsure if he could follow through with his goal.

“Oh, for god’s sake, just go!” Casey pushed him out into the hall, almost causing him to fall flat on his face. When he looked up, Angus was staring back at him, slightly scared and confused.

“Um, uh, h-hello! You’re Angus, right? I-I’m Gregg!”, stammered Gregg, barely able to keep himself from running off.

“Hello… Yes, my name is Angus.”, replied Angus slowly, “What do you want? I need to get home.” He put a stoic face and tone to hide how happy he was that Gregg was talking to him.

“Right, right, yeah. I was just wondering if maybe, if you want, you don’t have to, but would you want to maybe… hang out sometime?”, Gregg managed to get out.

Angus was surprised, to say the least. Gregg, the rambunctious teen that sat behind him in algebra, was actually talking to him, and he seemed like a wreck. It wasn’t like Gregg to stutter and hesitate in his speech like this. He knew this from all of the times he’d heard Gregg talking to his two friends in the back of the class. In the back of his mind, Angus hoped, almost prayed even, that Gregg might actually have the same feelings for him as he did.

_“You can’t! Do you know what mom and dad will do if they find out you’re dating a guy?!”_

_“But I want it so bad. Just this once, can’t I be happy? Even if they killed me, I could die happy if the last happy moment of my life was spent with him.”_

_“That’s just your hormones talking. What if it doesn’t work out? Then, you’ll be alone, and if you’re unlucky, your parents will find out, and you’ll be screwed. You can’t take this big of a risk.”_

_“No, I can’t, but I’m going to anyways. In fact…”_

“Uh, Angus, hello?”, said Gregg. Angus had gone quiet for a moment. Suddenly, he snapped out of it and answered.

“How about we go to the Clik Clak, like, right now?”, offered Angus. He knew what would happen later when he came home late, but he didn’t care, not now, not when he was so close to finding some form of happiness.

Gregg was stunned into silence. Had Angus just asked him out on a date, or was he thinking too hard about this? That didn’t matter right now. This was Gregg’s chance, and he was going to take it, even if his parents scolded him again for being home late.

“Yeah, sure. I can do that.”

“Okay, then. Let’s go.”, said Angus, walking toward the school exit. Gregg followed, turning around and giving Mae and Casey a thumbs up. They returned it before disappearing around the corner.

Later that night, when Angus got home, the beatings were worse than normal, but somehow, they hurt less. The date had been a success, and that consumed Angus’ mind, shielding him from the pain, giving him something to focus on, something that made him truly happy, truly hopeful.

That day would be the start of a lifelong relationship.

Now, however, that happiness was in danger of being taken away forever. Angus stood, unable to emote in any way, even though inside, he was screaming, panicking. Everything had fallen apart. Gregg’s heart had stopped. The beeping had stopped. Angus’ world began to crumble.

He could barely make out, in the back of his mind, the sounds of the paramedics rushing to try and save him. He saw a defibrillator. They were going to try and revive him.

“Clear!” The first discharge. Nothing.

_“Why is this happening? Why him? He doesn’t deserve this.”_

“Clear!” Again. Nothing.

_“If god really exists, why would they let someone as good as Gregg die?”_

“Clear!” A third time. Nothing.

_“It’s not fair! Give him back, please!”_

“Clear!” Attempt number four. Nothing.

_“Is it me? Is it my fault? Is this punishment for leaving my mom?”_

“Clear!” Five. Nothing.

_“Why didn’t you take me instead?! He deserves to live more than me! If you really exist, god, then prove it! Let him live, please!”_

“Clear!” Nothing.

_“It’s not happening… He isn’t coming back…”_

“Clear!” Still, nothing.

_“He’s gone… It’s over…”_

Angus had accepted Gregg’s fate, that he was gone, that he had lost him. He knew the doctors would give up soon.

“Clear!” The defibrillator discharged again into Gregg’s heart. Angus fully expected it to come up empty, but at that moment, a miracle happened.

_…Beep_

Angus felt his broken heart begin to heal.

_Beep_

Angus rose out of the pool of grief he was submerged in, pulled out by that all-powerful beep.

_Beep_

He had almost drowned, but he was saved, at least for now. The blood was making it into Gregg’s bloodstream fully now. Angus felt lightheaded, and his breathing became heavy. He stumbled back, his legs giving way as he collapsed into an emotional mess against the wall. He curled up into a ball in the corner and sobbed, tears of both joy and fear streaming down his face. The ambulance stopped. They had made it to the hospital. Gregg would get the help he needed. Somehow, everything seemed like it might be okay.

The ride to the hospital was not only agonizing for Angus, but for Mae as well. Not only was she worried about Gregg, but there was a somber aura consuming the car. Today had been horrible. Mae wondered what happened to yesterday. Yesterday was so good. They had all had a good time together. Bea kissed her. Where did it all go?

Also, why did this happen? That was the real question. Mae found, however, that it had no answer. Once again, the words of her aunt haunted her.

_“You remember, right? All it takes is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is no other reason. Those people were complete strangers. We still don’t even know what it was they were arguing about. All we know was that that one guy owed the other money for something.”_

That made it hurt more. That Gregg could die only because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time was a horrifying thought to Mae. That statement could be applied to anyone, too. Bea, Angus, even herself, none of them were exempt from this truth. Even if Gregg survived, who’s to say it wouldn’t happen again, maybe to someone else instead?

The ride was excruciatingly silent. It felt like an eternity before they reached the hospital. When Mae saw them roll Gregg into the building, she was relieved to see that his heart was still beating. It took a moment, but Angus exited the ambulance as well.

“He’s still alive.”, said Mae, rushing to get out of the car. She sprinted after Angus, Bea following close behind.

When they got inside the hospital, Angus was able to catch up with the stretcher, but when they got to a set of double door that led to the ER rooms, Gregg was taken through, but one of the doctors stopped Angus, and by extension, Mae and Bea.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t let you into the ER.”, said the doctor.

“Why not?!” Angus’ voice sounded almost like a growl. The doctor was visibly shaken by it.

“My apologies, but in order to ensure an optimal environment to save your friend’s life, we can’t let bystanders in while they’re performing these very complex procedures.”

At that, the wave of emotions that had welled up inside of Angus died down. He knew the doctor was right. He relented and went out into the waiting room. He barely paid any mind to Mae and Bea, who were right behind him for the conversation.

Taking a seat, Angus held his head in one hand and took out his phone with the other. He messaged Gregg’s parents and Jen that Gregg was in the hospital. They immediately said they were on their way. After that, Angus put his phone away and simply sat there in silent agony.

Mae was about to say something, but Bea placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head to signal that it wouldn’t be wise to disturb him, so instead, they both sat next to him, joining him in the silence.

Mae wanted Bea to comfort her, but when she went to cuddle, she felt an animosity that left her shaken. Something was wrong. Mae looked at Bea, but all she could see was a blank expression on Bea. Then, she realized that was what was wrong. Bea felt more distant than normal. Normally, if Mae was sad, she’d be sad, but there was nothing. Mae felt detached from her, and it scared her.

An hour or so passed, the animosity failing to cease, and then, a doctor came over to the three. Angus looked up, and when he realized he was there for them, he shot up.

The doctor smiled, “You’re Angus Delaney, yes?”

“Yes, that’s me. Gregg, is he okay?”, replied Angus, desperate to know the answer to his question.

“I’m happy to say that he should make a full recovery. The bleeding stopped, and we’ve given him stitches and antibiotics. There are no signs of infection, which is impressive, considering he was found on the floor of a club.”

Angus was relieved. He’d needed to hear someone tell him Gregg was okay. “Can I see him?”

“Yes, you may. Right this way. Are you two with him?” The doctor looked at Mae and Bea.

“Yes, we are.”, replied Bea.

“You can come, too.”

Mae and Bea stood and followed Angus and the doctor to Gregg’s room. He was unconscious when they arrived, which was to be expected. Angus pulled a chair up next to Gregg, placing a hand on his forehead. It was warm. It wasn’t a fever, just warmth. Angus began to cry again. When he had been holding Gregg for what he thought would be the last time, he was dreadfully cold, but now, here he was, warm and alive.

Mae began to cry as well. Gregg was one of the few people keeping Mae sane here in Bright Harbor. If he had died, she might have broken completely. The only thing she thought was worse than that would be losing Bea.

Bea was the only one who didn’t cry. Despite him being a part of their group, Bea never really took the time to grow close to Gregg. She was still happy to see that Angus wouldn’t have to suffer through losing him. He was the last person who deserved something like that.

Angus let out some combination of laughs and sobs, “He made it. He actually made it.”

“Of course, he made it. He’s Gregg. One stab wound isn’t going to stop him.”, said Mae.

“I don’t think you understand how close it was.”, replied Angus.

“What do you mean?”

“Back in the ambulance, Gregg’s heart stopped.”

“What?!”

“They had to shock him 8 times with the defibrillator to bring him back.”

That was a shock to Mae’s system. She hadn’t been in the ambulance. She didn’t know how close it was. Gregg really almost died.

“…But he’s fine now. He pulled through because that’s just how Gregg is. If it had been me, I probably wouldn’t have lasted a minute… You know, back on the ambulance, when Gregg had flatlined, I… prayed. I thought to myself as if some kind of god was actually listening. I’m actually almost inclined to start believing in god or something.”, said Angus.

“Do you believe in god now?”, asked Bea.

“I… don’t think so, but part of me wants to believe in case that’s what actually saved Gregg.”

“That’s probably not true.”, replied Mae.

“I know it’s not, but it’s almost like a superstition. I’m not gonna start going to church or being super religious or anything. It just felt like the one small thing I could do for Gregg when there was nothing else to do.”

“Yeah, I understand.”

A few hours later, Jen and Gregg’s parents arrived, and that’s when Mae and Bea decided to go home. Mae didn’t really want to, but there weren’t enough chairs in the room for all of them, and Mae didn’t feel like sleeping on the floor, so they left.

The car ride home seemed like it would be silent again, until Bea spoke up, “You broke your promise.”

If Mae hadn’t felt horrible already, she was now, “I’m sorry, I-“

“You say that every time, Mae. Look, I was fine with you going into that building and saving that girl, but there was no reason to chase after that guy.”

“He almost killed Gregg!”, argued Mae.

“I know that! I know he almost killed Gregg, but chasing after him was a horrible idea! He had a knife! He almost killed you, too! What would I have done If you died, huh?!”

Mae rubbed the cut on her cheek. It still stung a little. “I couldn’t think straight. Gregg means so much to me, and after I saw him fall, my mind was just a complete mess.”

Bea pulled up to the apartment.

“Come on, let’s just go inside, and we can talk about it, and you can get mad at me all you want, okay?”, requested Mae.

Mae got out of the car, and so did Bea. Mae went up to the door of their apartment and took out her key. When she looked behind her, though, Bea had stopped about halfway to the door.

“Bea? Are you okay? Come on, let’s go.”

Bea’s expression was dark. It radiated an aura that terrified Mae and filled her with sadness at the same time.

“Mae…”

“What is it? If something’s wrong, then tell me.”

“I… don’t know if I can do this anymore.”

Mae began to panic inside, “W-what do you mean?”

“You’re just… too much. I thought I could handle you, but I can’t.”

“Bea, don’t do this.”, pleaded Mae.

“No matter what I do, I can’t seem to keep you safe. You almost died tonight, because no matter how hard I try to get through to you, you keep making stupid decisions.”

“Bea, I can change, I swear.”

“I’m sure you can, but I just can’t seem to do it for you. You deserve someone who’s going to do more for you than I can. Back at the bar, I couldn’t do anything to make you feel better, but Angus got you to feel better so easily.”

“I only felt better because I knew I had you!”

“I know it hurts, but I can’t afford to lose you after I’ve made you a part of my family. I can’t do it again. I can’t lose any more family.”

“Bea, please…”

“I’m going to be gone for a while. I need to think things over.”

“Please don’t leave me! I don’t have anyone left! Gregg’s in the hospital and Angus is probably going to stay with him! I can’t see any of my family! What am I supposed to do?!”

“I don’t know. I wish I could answer that, but I can’t.” Bea turned and headed back to her car, “Please, take care of yourself. It would hurt for me to find out something happened to you after I left.”

Mae couldn’t get any more words to come out of her mouth. She watched helplessly as Bea got into her car and pulled out of the driveway. Now, she didn’t have anyone anymore. She was alone.

As Bea drove away, she felt a dreadful sadness and stress in her heart that was killing her inside. She didn’t know if she could handle it, unless…

“Do I still have it?”, she muttered to herself as she searched her glove box. Finally, she pulled out a small, white box. In it were cigarettes. Taking one out, she contemplated whether she should light it or not until the stress finally pushed her over the edge. Taking the lighter she received for Longest Night, she lit the cigarette and took a smoke.


	31. Spiraling Downward

Mae sat there, wondering what had happened. In the span of a few hours, everything in her life managed to come crumbling down. All of her hard work reduced to almost nothing. If Gregg had actually died, she’d have nothing left right now. Angus was really nice, but he just wasn’t Bea or Gregg for Mae, and she knew he would have been broken as well if Gregg had died.

Mae didn’t know what to do. She was all alone, and she had no idea how long it would take for Gregg to recover, when Angus would come home, or if Bea would come back. No, Bea had to come back. All of her stuff was in their apartment.

For the time being, with nothing else to do, Mae went inside. When she entered the apartment, the emptiness was terrifying. All she could think to do was to go to bed, so she made her way to the bedroom. As she shambled through the apartment, the lack of anything her mind could latch onto began to warp her vision. They were coming back, the shapes, but unlike any previous episode, Mae wasn’t scared. She didn’t care. Everything felt pointless to her now.

For the better part of an hour, she tried everything she could to sleep, even going so far as to try and cry herself to sleep, but nothing worked. There was nothing there to comfort her, only things, only shapes.

Mae was desperate to sleep if only to escape reality just for a little while. When she ran out of options, Mae thought of one thing that might give her respite. It was a tactic she hoped she’d never have to use again, but at this point, it was either this or wait until she passed out from exhaustion, and she couldn’t do that right now.

As she went to the bathroom, Mae tried to remember if they had any of it. She was sure they did. Everyone always keeps it in case of a rainy day. Mae only hoped it was the nighttime kind. She opened the medicine cabinet, and sure enough, there it was. Cough medicine, the nighttime kind. Picking up the bottle, Mae contemplated whether she should actually do this or not.

_“Should I really do this? Bea wouldn’t want this.”_

_“Does it even matter what Bea wants anymore? It’s over. You screwed it up like you knew you would.”_

_“What if she takes me back?”_

_“Really? We’re doing this now? Okay, sure. Go ahead, suffer more in some vain hope that it’ll pay off when Bea comes back.”_

_“Even if we can’t be together anymore, we’re still friends, right? She’ll still want what’s best for me.”_

_“It’s only a matter of time before she pulls the plug on your friendship, too. Stop kidding yourself. Drink the damn cough medicine so you can get some sleep. What’s best to her doesn’t matter anymore.”_

_“But is this what’s best for me? I’m drugging myself just to get some sleep. That’s not healthy.”_

_“To hell with being healthy. Maybe, you should have thought about health when you made yourself puke on those tacos or when you made yourself blackout drunk. Health doesn’t matter to you, and you know it. This is just another excuse, so you can do the ‘right thing’ because for some reason, you think that’ll bring Bea back, but it won’t.”_

_“I… You’re right. I’m not healthy at all, in any way. Why should I start now?”_

After giving into herself, Mae sat on her bed, opened the cough syrup, and downed a big chug of it. She put the cap back on, placing it by her bedside in case she needed more. It took a while for the medicine to kick in, but when it did, Mae was finally able to drift off to sleep.

Sleep passed by in an instant, and when Mae woke up, she could see light coming in through the windows. She groggily got up and checked her laptop for the time. It was almost noon. By the time she got home, it was past 10, and when she took the cough medicine and fell asleep, it had been around midnight. She had gotten 12 hours of sleep, yet she somehow felt even more exhausted.

Mae went out into the living room. There was a faint hope in the back of her mind that Bea would be sitting on the couch or eating breakfast in the dining room, but she was nowhere to be found.

_“Where did Bea even go?”, wondered Mae._

_“Is she, like, staying at a hotel or something?”_

_“Maybe, there’s some way I can get in contact with her. She has the phone I got her, right?”_

_“Shit. I don’t know the phone number.”_

_“What am I supposed to do today? I can’t go to the hospital. I don’t have a car. I don’t know Gregg or Angus’ phone numbers.”_

_“Bea really screwed you, didn’t she?”_

_“I could just walk.”_

_“I guess you don’t really have anything else to do. Go ahead, walk to the hospital. You know you would rather just go back to sleep, though.”_

_“Why am I so tired?”_

_“Just go back to sleep. Angus doesn’t need to hear about your problems right now. He’s got enough to worry about.”_

Mae walked over to her bed and was about to go back to sleep when she felt her stomach growl. She needed to eat. For a moment, she thought about what she could make, but everything, even just making a bowl of cereal, seemed like an insurmountable task. Finally, she just decided to order a pizza from a nearby pizza place. When the pizza arrived, she took the box into her room. She tried to eat a slice, but with every bite, she felt more and more like throwing up.

_“I’m hungry. I need to eat something. Why do I feel like throwing up already?”_

_“How many times do I need to tell you to just go to sleep? You’re not going to get anything done by staying up. You can’t even eat. Just lie down and go to sleep.”_

Finally, Mae gave up. She tried to sleep, but she found that once again, she couldn’t. Picking up the couch medicine, she swallowed some more of it, despite the fact that she was on the verge of vomiting. That seemed to help her fall back into her slumber once more.

Mae woke up again. It was nighttime. When she got up, she took some of the now cold pizza and ate it. She didn’t feel like throwing it up this time, so she ate the entire pizza. It didn’t give her a stomach ache at all. When she looked at the time, it was almost midnight again. She had slept for 24 hours. She needed to stay awake for a while.

The first thing Mae did when she got up was go and check the phone in their apartment for messages. When she saw that one was there, for an instant, she was filled with hope, but when she saw who sent it, her hopes were crushed. It was from Harvey.

_Hey, Mae. I just thought you should know that because of what happened, you, Jake, Gavin, and Julie are now guaranteed spots in our company as long as you do well in the rest of the internship, which I’m sure you will. I know this may not be much consolation, but I just thought you should know. Also, I heard about what you did, and I saw you after the incident. If you need to, you can take some time off. Just text me back if you plan on doing so._

Mae was suddenly reminded that she still had a job to do, a life to live. Knowing that she’d have to do all of this without Bea by her side weighed on her like a ton of bricks. Then, Mae began to panic.

_“I’m not getting paid for this internship! How am I going to keep this apartment?! How am I going to get food?! She wouldn’t just leave me here to fend for myself, would she?!”_

Now, not only was Mae losing Bea, but she would also either have to become homeless or give up the job she worked so hard to get.

_“Maybe, I can stay with Gregg and Angus? I’m sure they’d let me stay until I start getting paid, right?”_

_“But who knows when they’ll be back? Will the money you have now last you until Gregg recovers?”_

Mae checked how much money she kept on her. She only had a little less than 200 dollars. How long would Gregg’s recovery take?

_“Okay, you can do this. Just get one pizza per night. A pizza is 20 dollars plus tax. That means it should last me… 9 days? Could I take this whole week off of work? I need time to figure something out.”_

Mae messaged Harvey back, asking if she could take the next week off. It only took a minute for him to reply.

_I guess if that’s what you need. I know what happened was traumatic. Have you considered seeing a therapist or something, just to make sure you’re okay?_

Mae didn’t need a therapist to tell her that she wasn’t okay. She knew all too well how screwed up she was. She thanked him and told him that she’d consider it, even though she knew she wouldn’t.

With that, Mae had until next Monday to figure out what she’d do. She told herself that tomorrow, she’d begin working at it, but today, she just needed to sit and do nothing to recover, so she spent the rest of the day watching tv and movies. It didn’t bring her any joy. The people on the screen weren’t real to her anymore, just shapes.

When the night came, she ordered her pizza for the day. When it arrived, she began eating, and before she knew it, it was completely gone. This was in complete contrast to the night before when she couldn’t even eat one slice. In fact, she was still hungry, but she forced herself to lie down and sleep.

When Mae drank tonight’s cold medicine, she emptied it.

_“Shit. I’m going to need to buy more cold medicine. Will I even be able to afford enough for 9 days? This one bottle got me through 3 sleeping sessions. If I go down to one a day like normal, I need enough for 8 periods of sleep. That’s at least 3 bottles. If I do that, though, I’ll only have enough for, like, 7 more days of pizza, and that also means I have to go to the store. Goddamn it. I’ll have to go Sunday without food, and if I can’t find a solution to this problem, I’ll starve.”_

_“You know, if you’d just get up and cook something, you wouldn’t be having this problem.”_

Despite how tired the medicine made Mae feel, she got up and checked their cupboards. They were almost out of food. They were supposed to go shopping that weekend. Mae estimated that she’d have enough to last her about three days extra if she really spread it out. That gave her food and medicine through Tuesday. It wasn’t much better, but she’d have to make do. Hopefully, Gregg and Angus would be back by then. Mae had no idea how long it took knife wounds as bad as that to heal. She doubted it would be as short as recovering from one of their knife fights, though.

Now that Mae knew how long she had, she flopped on her bed and immediately fell asleep. Life had begun to take a steep spiral downward for Mae. She felt more and more powerless with each passing moment, and as with everything else in her life, there was nothing she could do about it.


	32. He Went Somewhere Pt.1

One by one, the days went by. Angus never came home. The only time Mae went outside was to get cold medicine and to grab her pizza when it was delivered. She didn’t shower. Garbage piled up throughout the house. Mae didn’t take care of herself. She was a complete wreck.

It was the weekend. On Monday, Mae would be forced to go back to work in some vain hope that she’d be able to maintain her job. She realized that she needed to try and move on, to live her life without Bea. After all, she’d die if she didn’t keep on living, right?

On Saturday, Mae showered for the first time all week. Putting on whatever clean clothes she could find, Mae decided to go for a walk. She didn’t know where, but she was walking.

It was snowing out, so Mae had to wear her winter coat. Luckily, it wasn’t too windy. When she exited her house, she took a deep breath of the fresh air. She had become numb to the stench that had built up inside her apartment, so going outside was a weird experience.

Mae walked, passing by hundreds of people on the streets. Mae watched as people entered the myriad shops and businesses throughout the city. They were all living their lives, completely oblivious to the fact that Mae was broken inside. Every person she passed was someone she’d probably never see again. How could they just ignore her when she was in so much pain?

Mae knew the answer. It was because they didn’t know her or that she was hurting. They didn’t know her, and they probably never would. It was a strange thought to Mae, but one she had often. She saw all of these people pass her by on a daily basis, all supposedly with their own life stories. Mae could never prove the stories were real, though. The stories that others told her were paramount to the stories she was told in books, video games, or movies, but they were different, because they were all supposed to be real, and she had believed they were real, until one day, she didn’t.

Clearing the thoughts from her head, Mae kept walking. She couldn’t let herself fall into that hole again. This walk was supposed to clear her mind, not make it even muddier. After about 15 minutes of walking, Mae found herself at Bright Harbor’s train station. She remembered the train from Possum Springs. She wished she lived closer to it in Bright Harbor. She missed the sound of the rails rattling at night as she slept.

Mae decided to take a break at the station. She found a bench and sat on it. Pulling her hood over her head, she let her eyes rest for a bit. She almost fell asleep there, until the train came and screeched to a halt at the station. Mae then started drifting back to sleep ever-so-slowly.

Once again, sleep almost took Mae, but she was woken up, this time by someone sitting next to her on the bench. Mae almost didn’t look over, assuming that the person probably wasn’t someone she knew, but curiosity took over, and she glanced at the stranger. Then, she realized it wasn’t a stranger. Sitting next to her on the bench was none other than Jeremy Warton, aka Germ Warfare.

“Germ?! What are you doing here?!”, exclaimed Mae. Looking Germ over, he seemed very rugged and scruffy. He looked like he hadn’t showered in a while either.

Germ seemed unfazed by her sudden outburst, “Mae? Wow, it’s been a while.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while! Where have you been?! Why are you here?!” Mae had so many questions, and Germ had no problem giving her answers.

“You remember how Casey always wanted to ride the rails, right? Well, since he… couldn’t, I decided to do it in his place.”

“What? I thought you were going to go to college?”

“I was, but I just really wanted to do this. Casey was probably the one of the group who I knew most. He was like a brother to me, and he always put up with all of my weirdness better than anybody.”

“I remember you used to be really weird. You’d just say and do things at random without a care in the world.”

“I know. I’m still like that to an extent. I hate the idea of being normal. I only do what’s normal for me. That’s another reason I had to start hopping trains, to prove that I could stay myself, even through adulthood. I knew going to college was what I should have done, but I wanted to do this, so I had a choice to make.”, explained Germ.

“And you decided to stay true to yourself… Why didn’t you tell any of us?”, asked Mae.

“I didn’t want any of you telling me not to go. If any of you had tried to stop me from leaving, I felt like I would have broken too easily. That was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make, and I didn’t think I could handle any more backlash.”

“Any more? What backlash did you get?”, questioned Mae.

“My family was extremely disappointed when I told them. They thought I was throwing my life away, and honestly, maybe I am, but I needed to do this. It’s what Casey wanted, for all of us, not just himself. He wanted an escape for all of us.”

“Wow. I’m sorry. You know, you seem like you’ve gotten a lot more philosophical over the past couple of years.”, commented Mae.

“When you have hours and hours of sitting and doing nothing on a regular basis, you get to thinking about these things a lot. At first, I didn’t even know why I had to do it. It took me a few months to get a good idea of why I did what I did. I feel like I have a better understanding of myself now.”

“What’s it like, being out there, on the rails?”, asked Mae.

“It’s oddly relaxing. It’s not easy, though. You have to constantly do odd jobs for food and water. Shelter can also be a problem if you stay in one place for too long. It’s a lot of work, but also a lot of sitting around and doing nothing.”

“Wow. That sounds kind of intense. Have there been times where you’ve had to go without food or shelter?”

“Oh, yes, plenty of times. You get used to it, though.”

“So, what brought you to Bright Harbor?”, asked Mae.

“It’s just where I ended up today. I’ve actually been here quite a few times.”

“Why have you never thought to visit Gregg and Angus?”

“I don’t know where they live and looking for them is time I could spend doing work for food or finding shelter. Also, what are you doing here?”

“I live here now. In fact, I live in the same apartment as Gregg and Angus… and Bea. I could take you there. That way, you’ll know where to go whenever you’re in the area.”

“Wow. That’s convenient. Thank you.”

Mae got up and started taking Germ back to her apartment. Then, she remembered how much of a mess it was.

“Oh, god. My place is an effing mess right now. Do you mind?”, asked Mae.

“Please, I’m basically homeless. I deal with gross stuff all the time. Can I ask why it’s a mess, though?”

Mae wondered if she could really open up to Germ about everything. He seemed so different now. She hadn’t seen him in years. This could be an opportunity to dump out all of her feelings, though. Maybe, that would help her. Besides, he’d probably leave after tonight anyway. She decided to tell him everything.

As they walked home, Mae told Germ about her life from the moment she came to Bright Harbor with Bea. Every victory, every screw-up, all of the ups and downs. As she neared the end, she began to cry. Having to confront the events of the past week took a toll on her mind. When she finished, they had reached the apartment.

“So, Bea left you, huh?”

Mae wanted so badly to tell him that they were just taking a break, but she knew that was a lie. “Y-yeah…”

“You know, you need to move on.”, said Germ.

“I know, okay?! I know I can’t keep going on like this, but I don’t know how to stop! How am I ever supposed to feel better?! My life is falling apart, and there’s nothing I can do about it!”, yelled Mae.

“There is one thing you can do about it.”

“What would that be?”, asked Mae passive-aggressively.

“You can keep living. As long as you’re living, your life isn’t over, right?”

“How do I live? I don’t get it! It’s not that easy!”

“The first thing you can do is realize that what you’re doing to yourself isn’t fair to Bea. You know she doesn’t want this, so stop letting yourself go and get a hold of yourself. If you can do that, then when Bea eventually comes back for her stuff, you’ll be able to look her in the eyes and tell her that you’ll be okay.”

“But I’m not okay. Nothing about me is okay.”, argued Mae.

“Even if you aren’t now, you have to believe that you’ll be okay in the future. That’s the only way things are going to get better.”

“I’m too much of an idiot for things to get better. I keep on doing stupid shit, and without Bea, I’ll probably just keep on doing more stupid shit.”

“You doing stupid shit isn’t her problem anymore, and it never should have been her problem. Your bad decision-making skills are your problem. You need to fix it for yourself, not for her.”

“I’m confused. Am I doing this for Bea or for myself?”, questioned Mae.

“You’re not getting the point. As you told me your story, it seemed like everything you did was for Bea, which is bad. It made it seem like you thought you didn’t deserve any of the improvements that you were trying to make for yourself. I’m not saying that having Bea as one of your inspirations is bad. In fact, it’s a sign that you care a lot about her, but you also need to make these changes to your life because you want them. That’s the reason why you were never able to change yourself in order to keep your relationship together.”, explained Germ.

At that moment, Mae looked back on everything that had happened in the past month or so, and she realized that Germ was right. Every time she tried to better herself, it was because Bea wanted it.

“Oh, my god. You’re right.”

“See? Now you’re getting it. It’s unhealthy to only do things because someone else wants you to do them. Just look at me. Despite what my family said, I went out there, riding the rails, and I’ve made so many memories out there. I wouldn’t give it up, even if I had the chance.”

“So, what do I do now?”

“Well, I’d say just wait it out for Gregg and Angus to come back. If you need to go without food for a few days, then do it. Don’t give up this internship, though. It’s a big opportunity. Also, when Bea comes back, you need to be ready to tell her that you’ll be okay. Then, go on and make the changes to your life that you want to make. Even if you’re not with Bea, I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“Wow. I can’t believe you went and got so smart while you were gone. Thank you. Um, I was going to order a pizza. Did you want to come inside? You could have some.”, offered Mae.

“Nah. I’ve actually got to catch the next train out of here. I agreed to meet up with a buddy at the next stop, and if I’m not there, he won’t be happy.”

“Oh. That’s too bad. Well, thanks anyways. I hope you do well out there.”

“I seem to be doing alright so far. I think I’ll be fine.”

“Well, I guess I’ll go inside now. It was great seeing you again.”

“Likewise. Tell the others I said hi, alright?”, requested Germ.

“I will. Again, thank you for everything. Goodbye.”

“You’re welcome, and goodbye to you, too.”

Mae turned around and went inside, making her way upstairs. Germ was so different. She wondered what sort of things he’d experienced, what caused him to change so much. She’d have to ask him the next time she saw him. She felt like she was ready to face her life again, even if it was without Bea from here on out.

Germ watched as Mae went inside and shut the door behind her. Then, before he left, he saw a familiar car turn the corner of the street. Inside, was someone he recognized very well. He sighed and stayed.

“I guess I could give this a shot, too.”, he muttered as Bea’s car pulled up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't usually do notes at the ends of chapters, but I wanted to talk about Germ. I know I took some pretty big liberties with his character here. He's different from how he was in the game, but I think it works. At some point in the future, I might even do a story about him hopping trains, but that won't be for a while. I hope everyone else is fine with what I did with his character. That's all I really wanted to say. We're getting near the end of the story, so I hope you enjoy.


	33. He Went Somewhere Pt.2

Bea’s week hadn’t been much better than Mae’s. She found a hotel to stay at. All she needed was to be by herself for a little while.

The smoking habit came back with crippling force. She needed cigarettes constantly to ward off the stress that she had just gone through. Every time she lit one up, the stress was replaced by resounding guilt, but that was better than everything else she was feeling right now, so she endured it.

Unlike Mae, Bea had gone back to work that week. She was the manager. Taking a week off wasn’t something to take lightly. Every day drew on for an eternity, the cigarettes only giving brief periods of respite. It was so unbelievably boring. As the days went on, Bea found herself wishing that Jenny was back, if only to keep things interesting. Danny was a good assistant manager, but being a good worker meant he had to do his job, which was boring.

Danny had tried to confront Bea about the way she was acting a few times, but she pushed him away every time. She found herself yelling at him a few times, which got him to back down instantly but left Bea with more guilt piled on top of the guilt she was amassing from the cigarettes and leaving Mae.

Bea didn’t want to leave her, but she just couldn’t handle it anymore. She told herself that the pain she was feeling now would go away but staying with her would only bring unnecessary stress and hurting for them both. She told herself that it was better if she had no one to lose. If Mae had died that day…

Bea couldn’t bring herself to visit Gregg and Angus in the hospital. She knew from the texts Angus sent her that he stayed there 24/7. Gregg was getting better, though. He would probably be allowed to leave the hospital by next Friday.

Every night that Bea stayed in the hotel, she just sat and thought. She had a huge decision to make. She hadn’t officially broken up with Mae yet. Those words hadn’t come from either of them. If she wanted to, she might be able to take her back. If, however, she decided to cut off the relationship for good, she could never go back.

After a week of deep contemplation, Bea came to a decision. She had to do what would be best for the two of them in the long run. 

It had to be over between them.

As Bea drove home, she questioned her decision.

_“Is this really the right thing?”_

_“Of course, it is. You can’t handle her. If she hurt herself because you weren’t able to get through to her… You can’t let what happened to dad happen to her. It was your fault dad joined that stupid cult. If you had gotten him the help he needed, he might have been okay. You couldn’t save him, and you can’t save Mae, either. Losing her isn’t an option, so yes, this is the right thing.”_

Before Bea knew it, the apartment building came into view. There was someone standing out front. She couldn’t recognize them at first, so she paid them no mind as she pulled in. When she got out, she went up to the front door and was about to open it when she heard the stranger say something to her.

“Hey, Bea. Long time no see.”

Bea turned around. She almost recognized that voice, but it was deeper this time. When she got a good look at him, she finally saw who it was.

“Germ?”

“Yep. That’s me.”

“What are you doing here?”

Germ explained everything about him hopping trains and riding the rails to Bea. She listened intently as Germ told her his story.

“So, that’s where you went. That still doesn’t explain why you’re here, though. Is there a specific reason?”, questioned Bea.

“No. I just happened to be here. I met Mae at the station. She took me back here to show me where you guys lived.”

“She was at the station? Where is she now?”, asked Bea.

“She went inside a few moments ago.”

“Did she say anything about… us?”

“Yes, she did. In fact, it didn’t take much to get her to explain everything to me.”

“Everything?” Bea felt anxious next to Germ now.

“Bea, why are you leaving Mae?”

“Huh? Didn’t you say she told you everything?”

“She did. She told me why she thought you left. I want to know why you think you left.”

It took Bea a moment to form an explanation, “Well, it’s just that she’s too much for me. I can’t handle her.”

“Why can’t you handle her?”

“I tried so hard to help her, but she wouldn’t listen to me. I watched as she made stupid decision after stupid decision, and every time, I got so scared. I’m afraid that one of these days, she’s going to do something that’s going to get her killed. She almost died just last week, and that was the last straw for me.”

“So, you’re saying that you’re leaving her because you’re afraid of losing her.” Germ stated that so matter-of-factly. It made Bea feel vulnerable.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“That’s really weird.”

“Huh?”

“You’re afraid of losing her, so you’re actively pushing her away from you. That doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense to me.”, said Germ.

“I can’t be with her. She needs someone who can actually help her. I tried, but just like with my dad, I couldn’t do anything.”

“And how do you know she won’t end up with someone who’ll only make things worse?”

“What?”

“You’re counting on the possibility that the next person that Mae manages to get into a relationship with is a good person, but what if they’re not? You know how easy it is for Mae to be manipulated. I mean, she met some guy she injured back in high school, and her first reaction was to get blackout drunk, and now, she’s dealing with the trauma of you breaking up with her. Do you really think she’ll be able to act for herself if the wrong person gets a hold of her?”

Bea was left speechless. Germ decided to keep going.

“I did the best I could to help her, but honestly, in the condition you’ll be leaving her in, not just emotionally speaking, I don’t know if some inspirational words are going to help all that much. She feels better now, but that won’t last.”

“What am I supposed to do, then?! If I can’t be with her, and I can’t leave her, what do you want me to do?!”, yelled Bea.

“You think you can’t be with her, but you’re wrong, at least now you are. I talked to her about things, and I really think that if you were to go back to her and try again, she’d be ready to make the change that you want.”

“What did you tell her?”

“Sorry, but those words are for her ears only. This needs to be something she does for herself. If I had to suggest anything, I’d say tell her to see a therapist, but do not make her. She has some serious problems with her self-worth. Other than that, I’m sure Mae can handle what I told her by herself for now. All you need to do is be there to make sure she’s okay. She’s going to be extremely vulnerable for a while. I did kind of tell her to completely change her mindset toward you and her life in general. She seemed to take it seriously, though, so that’s good.”

Bea wasn’t too sure what to make of all of this. This was going completely different from how she expected it to go, but that was a good thing.

“Well, I’ve got to go. The next train leaves soon. I’ll be sure to drop by and visit again sometime. Good luck with everything.”, said Germ as he turned to leave.

“Uh, thank you for all of this! I’ll make everything right, I swear!”, she called as Germ walked away. Now, she was alone to face Mae by herself. What did Germ say to her? How would Mae act? Bea knew she wouldn’t get answers if she didn’t go inside, so she opened the door and stepped in.

When Mae entered her apartment again, she was bombarded by an awful smell. She had gotten used to the outside air, so coming back in was a shock to her system. As soon as she closed the door behind her, she began cleaning. She picked up all of the garbage and threw it into a garbage bag. Then, she took some air freshener and sprayed it around the house.

Mae was determined to get her life back on track. When Bea got back, she would be ready. She started sweeping the floor.

_“I can do this! My life isn’t over yet!”_

_“Are you sure? Bea was such a big part of your life.” Mae’s mind attempted to plant seeds of doubt within her. She was breaking already._

_“Yes, I’m sure. I can make the change that I want in my life!”_

_“But the change that you want is for you to be with Bea again, right?”_

_“N-no, that’s not it. I can’t have her anymore.”_

_“But you want her.”_

_“Stop! It hurts, but it’ll go away. I have to believe that.”_

There was a knock at the door. Mae’s head snapped to where the door was.

_“Who is that? I didn’t order pizza yet.”_

_“Is it Bea? No, it can’t be.”_

_“What if it is? I can’t let her see me like this!”_

_“How am I supposed to tell her everything’s okay when I look like this?!”_

“Mae? Are you in there?”, called the voice of Bea from outside, “I’m going to come in, okay?”

_“Shit, shit, shit! I’m not ready!”_

_“Why is this happening now?”_

_“There’s not time to complain. This is happening now, and you need to face it. It’s the only way anything is going to get any better.”_

Mae slowly made her way to the front door of their apartment. She could hear keys jingling. Then, the lock clicked, the door swinging open soon after.

The moment the door opened, Mae and Bea locked eyes. Their eyes said it all.

Mae’s eyes were fearful, sad, lonely, accepting. She had an extremely passive look on her face. She was ready to face Bea’s final departure with the best smile she could force out. She wanted to cry, but she forced herself to hold back. Bea needed to know that she was okay.

Bea’s eyes were hopeful, anxious, guilty, tired. She had a look of someone ready to take action, to make up for their mistakes. She was ready to take Mae back and do anything she could to help her through this time in their life. She wanted to hug Mae and tell her she was sorry for everything, but she knew that Mae needed to change. She had to let Mae feel bad for a little while. Whatever Germ told Mae to do was something that Mae had to do herself.

There was a palpable silence for a moment as they stared each other down. Finally, Mae decided to be the one to break it.

“Hey, Bea.”

“Hey, Mae.”


	34. Building a Brighter Future

There was another silence after Mae and Bea greeted each other. Both of them were scared for different reasons. Mae thought this was the end of Bea and her. Bea was afraid that she would fail Mae again. Their fears were shackles that stopped them from confronting each other. They were both struggling against them with everything they had. Then, Mae felt them crack.

“I know what you’re here for.”

As Mae broke her shackles, Bea felt hers shatter as well.

“Do you?”

“Yeah. Come on. I’m sorry it smells so bad in here. I just finished cleaning and stuff.” Mae led Bea into the apartment, trying to keep her face blank and emotionless, though her eyes were betraying her.

“You can take whatever. I probably won’t be living here much longer.”

“What?”, questioned Bea.

“I don’t get paid, remember?”

_“Shit!”_ , Bea thought, _“I almost left her with nothing! How could I be so stupid?!”_

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I’m sure Gregg and Angus will let me stay with them. I’m going to be okay, I promise.”, assured Mae, barely able to contain her sorrow.

“Mae, wait.”, said Bea, causing Mae to halt and turn around, “I know Germ talked to you. He talked to me, too.”

“What did he say?”, asked Mae.

“I think it’s best for us to keep what he said to each of us to ourselves. What matters is that I don’t want it to be over between us.” 

Mae’s mind was racing. She was so confused. It had seemed like Germ was trying to prepare her to let Bea go, but in that moment, Mae realized that he was doing the opposite. He had been preparing her to be better for Bea if she wanted to keep going, and she did. She did wonder what exactly he said to Bea, but if she didn’t want to say, she wasn’t going to force her.

_“Germ, how did you get so goddamn smart?”_ , wondered Mae. Had he really learned all of this from riding trains? She guessed that traveling so much probably meant he got to meet a lot of people, each with their own lessons and experiences to pass on. He had changed so much. It was like he was a completely different person.

“R-really? You m-mean it?”, asked Mae, finding it hard to believe that this was happening. After all of the mistakes she made, Bea was willing to take her back?

“Yes. I want to give you another chance. There is one thing I’d like you to do, though.”

“What is it?”

“Now, you don’t have to do this, but I think it’d really help. I think you should see a therapist. I can tell just by looking around that you haven’t been okay this past week. That garbage can is filled with only pizza boxes. Also, there are bottles of cough medicine on top, more than one. That’s not normal. I won’t ask you to tell me what happened while I was gone, but I do think you should see a professional.”

Mae thought for a moment. She didn’t want to see a therapist. She hated the idea of it, but Bea wanted it, so… No, _she_ wanted it. She wanted to get better, and if that meant seeing a professional, then that’s what she was going to do. She would do it not just because Bea wanted it, but because she wanted it, too.

“Yeah, I can do that.”, replied Mae.

“Really? Thank you. It means a lot that you’d be willing to do that for me.”

“I’m sorry about everything I did.”

“I know you are, but this time, I’m not going to forgive you, not until you show me that you’ve changed for good, okay?”

“Okay. I understand. I’ll do it. I’ll change, but can I ask you something?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“I can smell the smoke on you again. Promise me you’ll stop, please?”

Bea almost couldn’t look Mae in the eyes. She felt so guilty for giving up. If Mae was going to try and change, though, then she had to change, too.

“Yeah, I can do that.”

Mae smiled warmly, “Thanks, Beabea.”

“So, what do you want to do now? I’d say we could start by getting this place cleaned up.”, suggested Bea.

“Actually, could you take me to the hospital to see Gregg? I haven’t seen them or heard from them all week.”

“Oh, right. I haven’t seen them either. Sure, we can do that first.”

“Thank you.” Mae hugged Bea. Bea gladly hugged back. They hugged for a few minutes before heading to the hospital, grateful that they had made it through the hardships of the past week and come out on top.

When they arrived, they asked the receptionist to see Gregg, and they obliged. They signed in and went to where Gregg was staying. When they went into the room, it was only Gregg and Angus. Both of them were awake.

“Mae? Bea?”, said Gregg. He certainly sounded like he was recovering well.

Angus turned and watched Mae and Bea walk into the room.

“Wow. You two look almost as bad as I probably do. Did something happen?”, asked Angus.

“Yeah, but we’re fine now.”, replied Bea.

“How are you feeling, Gregg?”, asked Mae.

“Pretty good considering the fact that I was stabbed.”, said Gregg.

“I still can’t believe that happened. I was so scared.”

“Eh, I’m fine now, right? Plus, I’m gonna have a sweet scar there now. I can tell people that I got that from an actual knife fight.”

“It wasn’t really much of a fight.”, said Bea.

“Whatever. No one will care if I bend the truth a bit, right?”

“How long will it be until you can leave?”, asked Mae.

“They said I should be out by next Friday. It sucks that I have to miss another week of work.”

“Oh, what about the medical bills? Are they bad?”

“If you two need, we can try to help pay for them.”, offered Bea.

“There’s no need for that.”, replied Angus, “Gregg’s boss offered to pay for all of it.”

“Really?!”, exclaimed Mae and Bea in unison.

“Yeah. He’s a really cool guy, just a great boss overall.”, said Gregg.

“Wow. That’s so nice.”, said Mae.

“Honestly, it was probably just so you wouldn’t sue him or something.”, said Bea.

“We can’t sue him for injuries received from bargoers. Responsibility doesn’t fall on the bar. It falls on the person who caused the injury.”, replied Angus.

“Oh, I didn’t know that. Makes sense, though.”

“Well, now you know.”

“Thank you guys for visiting me. Really, I appreciate it.”, said Gregg.

“There’s no need to thank us. Honestly, I should have been here more.”, replied Mae.

“Yeah, me, too.”, added Bea.

“Don’t sweat it. Angus was here with me the whole time. As long as he’s here, I’ll be fine.”

“Actually, I have another question. Is Angus’ boss okay with him taking all of this time off?”, asked Mae.

“Actually, I’m just using the vacation days I’ve saved up. I almost never take time off of work. When I do, it’s either because I’m really sick or because Gregg is sick. I wanted to save my vacation and sick days in case of things like this.”, explained Angus.

“Oh, okay.”

Mae was in awe at how much things were looking up again. Somehow, everything went from hopeless back to hopeful in only a few hours. It was amazing how fast and how easily things could change in life. Just this morning, Mae had been scrambling to pull herself out of a pit of pure despair and finding that she couldn’t no matter how hard she tried. Now, everything looked like it would be okay again.

A few hours later, Mae and Bea left. They promised to visit again soon. When they got home, they finished cleaning the apartment. Soon enough, it seemed inhabitable again. Then, Bea decided to help Mae with finding a good therapist. They spent a few hours searching up different places and people. Finally, they came to an agreement on one of them. They seemed, at least from the reviews they had, to be a good therapist, and they also wouldn’t completely rip through their savings.

“So, we’re in agreement, then. This guy seems pretty good, right?”, asked Bea.

“Yeah. We should still visit him before we start scheduling appointments and stuff. It’s kind of hard to judge whether he’ll be good for me if I’ve never met him before.”

“Good point. We can go tomorrow then, does that sound good?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“I’m really glad that you’re agreeing to do this.”, said Bea, placing a hand on Mae’s shoulder.

“It’s pretty overdue, to be honest. I thought I could be like Gregg. He never had to see a therapist. I was wrong, though. I have so many problems that I don’t know how to deal with in a good way.”

“I’m sorry that I can’t do more for you.”

“Don’t be. I can’t expect you to be able to fix my mental problems. You’re not a psychologist.”

Bea thought about that for a moment. Mae was right. She wasn’t a psychologist. “What if I was a psychologist?”

“Huh?”

“If I ever end up going to college, maybe that’s what I’ll major in. I could be a psychologist.”

“I thought you wanted to be an engineer, though.”

“Yeah, I do, but this is important to me. I know so many people that I couldn’t help because I’m clueless when it comes to mental stuff. My dad, Gregg, Angus, you, even Jenny. You’ve all been through things, many of them extremely traumatic, and they’ve hurt you in ways that always had to be helped by someone else. I was never able to do anything about them, but if I became a psychologist, I might be able to help you all.”, Bea explained.

“Wow. That’s really cool, Bea. I know you’d be able to do it if you put your mind to it. Maybe, once I’m done with this internship, you can start going to college. I’m sure they’d be able to give you help with money and stuff since you were valedictorian and all.”

“You’d be willing to do that for me?”

“Of course! You deserve it! After everything you’ve been through, you deserve the chance to chase after your dreams! I want you to go! Go and do what I wasn’t able to because that’s what you deserve!”

“You’re serious about this… Okay, I’ll do it. We’re going to start saving money, and when you get that job, I’m going to become a psychologist!” Bea felt something that she hadn’t felt in so many years that day, an aspiration she’d all but lost when her mother died, and everything seemed like it was stolen away from her.

Mae watched as Bea smiled. It was the most genuine smile she had ever gotten from her. The last time she smiled like that was back when they were in the scouts together, back when they were just kids.

_“I did it. I finally did it.”, Mae thought._

_“That smile, that’s what I’ve wanted out of her all this time.”_

_“I finally gave it to her.”_

_“I’ve waited for this for so long.”_

_“I finally made her truly happy again.”_

It was getting pretty late, and they were both tired from the day’s events. For the first time since that night at the bar, the two slept together in the same bed. For the first time since that night, Mae was able to sleep without the aid of cough medicine.

Finally, the storm had passed. The storm that had slowly gathered from the moment Mae and Bea got together had passed, and Mae and Bea were able to come out on top. Everything would be okay.

The next day, Mae and Bea got back to their normal morning routine. After everything was said and done, they readied themselves to meet with Mae’s potential new therapist.

“Are you ready for this, Mae?”, asked Bea.

“Yeah, I am. As long as he isn’t as bad as Dr. Hank, I’ll be fine.”

“Good. Let’s go then.”

Bea drove to the therapist’s office, which wasn’t too far away. It only took about 20 minutes to reach it. As Mae went inside, she felt anxious. She never did like the idea of pouring all of your problems onto some random guy. It was their job, though, and that made Mae feel a little bit better.

Bea went up to the front desk.

“Hello. May I help you?”, asked the receptionist.

“Yes, is Dr. Green available? I’d like to speak with him, ask him some questions. We’re looking to find a good therapist for my friend.”

“Hm. You came at a good time. He’s actually free right now. I’ll call him. Just wait here.” The receptionist picked up the phone and dialed up Dr. Green.

Bea went to sit with Mae while they waited, “Well, that was lucky.”

“Yeah. What kind of name is Dr. Green, anyway? There’s no green anywhere in here.”

“It’s just his last name, Mae. Don’t think too hard about it.”

The receptionist looked up, “Dr. Green will see you now. His room is at the end of the hall.”

“Thank you very much. Come on, Mae, let’s go.” Bea stood, motioning for Mae to follow. They walked down to Dr. Green’s room. Sitting at the desk in the room was a friendly-looking deer. He was practically built for being as non-threatening as possible. His face was gentle, his body was lean, and he wasn’t too tall.

“Hello, Dr. Green?”, said Bea.

“Oh, hello. I hear you’re looking for someone for your friend to see, yes?”

“That would be me, actually.”, answered Mae, stepping forward. Bea hadn’t expected Mae to step forward herself. She was prepared to introduce her and everything, but she seemed perfectly fine with doing it herself.

“You’re the one who’s looking for a therapist?”, asked Dr. Green.

“Y-yes. I’m Mae Borowski.”

“My name is Emil, Emil Green.”

“Oh, you want me to call you by your first name?”, questioned Mae.

“If you’re the one looking to be my patient, then it’ll be better for us to know each other on a first name basis.”

“That makes sense.”

“So, if you’re going to be my patient, I need to know what kind of problems we’re looking at. What made you want to see a therapist?”, asked Emil.

“Well, I’ve been going through a lot of stuff since high school, and it’s hurting people. It’s not just me anymore. If you want more detail, I can get into it, but we’d be here for a while. I tried to see a therapist in my old town, but he was terrible. He just told me to write in a journal and try to deal with the feelings myself.”

“That doesn’t sound very professional.”

“He basically did everything medical-wise in my old town. That meant he was never very good at anything he did. I still respect him for the amount of work it must have been, though.”

“Well, you won’t have to worry about that here, at least I hope you won’t. If you want, we can start scheduling appointments starting next week. Would this time work every week for you?”

“Yeah, this time every week is fine.”, answered Mae.

“Great. Well, I look forward to helping you. The first step is seeking help. You should be proud that you were willing to take that first step. A lot of people never do.”

“Thank you, sir.”, replied Mae.

“Emil. Don’t call me sir. That makes it too formal.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you, Emil. I’ll see you next week.”

“Yep. Bye.”

Mae and Bea left, satisfied with how the visit went. They just had to fill out some paperwork to make it official. Then, they went home. For the rest of the day, they simply sat on the couch and cuddled. They didn’t even turn on the tv. They just sat in each other’s embrace, enjoying the moment.

“Everything’s really going to be okay, isn’t it?”, asked Mae.

“I think so.”

“So much has happened since we got here.”

“Yeah, it has.”

“Do you… regret any of it?”

“Not at all.”

“…Me neither.”

There was some silence between them as they relaxed until Mae decided to say the words that she had missed saying so much that week they were apart.

“I love you, Beabea.”

Bea smiled that genuine smile again.

“I love you, too, Maeday.”

Then, for the rest of the day, they sat there, in silence, ready to embrace their future together. They had made it. They had made it together in Bright Harbor, their new home. Through all of the hardships, the arguments, the stress, they had made it. They had made Bright Harbor the home of a brighter future for them. They made it, and they sure as hell deserved it. Their future was looking brighter than it ever had before.


	35. One Story Ends, Another Begins

It was Friday, and that meant that Gregg would finally be allowed to go home. All they had to do was fill out some paperwork and they were set to go. Gregg was excited to finally be able to get out of his hospital gown. As soon as he was able, he took some clothes that Angus had prepared for him and put them on along with his leather jacket.

Gregg looked at where the knife had gone through the jacket, and it was sewn up. Angus had patched it up for him while he stayed at the hospital. Angus gave him his new knife back. Bea had given it to him when she visited.

Once Gregg was done getting dressed, he gladly followed Angus out of the hospital. When the two stepped outside, it felt so liberating. The only times Angus had left Gregg’s room were to get something to eat. They both agreed that they needed to take showers when they got home.

Gregg stretched out, letting out a satisfied groan as he did, “Oh, that feels good. Being stuck in a bed for two weeks is not good for your back, I’ll tell you that much. Also, I feel really weak. Even walking feels like a chore.”

“Well, not moving for two weeks will do that to you. You just need to give your muscles time to build back up.”, said Angus.

Gregg sighed, “At least I can go home now. I’ve missed sleeping in the same bed as you.”

“Really?” Angus blushed.

“Yeah! You’re just so soft and warm and cuddly!”

“So are you.”, replied Angus.

“Aw, screw it. Who says we have to wait until we get home.” Gregg pulled Angus in for a hug. The winter coats they had on did get in the way a bit, but they still deeply enjoyed the moment together.

After that, they went home. Gregg seemed just like his old self, like the fact that he almost died didn’t even faze him. Angus wanted to feel normal again, but he just couldn’t shake this feeling inside him.

Angus took a shower first. After he got out, Gregg went in, leaving Angus alone on their couch, alone with his thoughts.

_“You were so close to losing him. You were so close.”_

_“It’s fine. He’s fine.”_

_“It’s not, though. He almost died. What would you have done?”_

_“I would have kept living as best as I could.”_

_“Would you really have been able to do that, though? If you think about it, he’s the only family you have left. You don’t even have your brother anymore.”_

_“He would still want me to at least try to be happy.”_

_“He wouldn’t want anything. He’d be dead! Saying someone who died would have wanted something is dumb because they’re dead! They can’t want things anymore! All he would have been if he died is a pile of worthless flesh in the ground. Eventually, he wouldn’t even be that. His body would decay, leaving only his bones. Can a pile of bones want something?”_

_“But what if-“_

_“Are you actually going to start believing in an afterlife? Now? There is no god, and you know it. If god existed, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place. You can sit there and pretend that God was the reason he lived, but it’s not true. Where was god when all Mae could see in the world was shapes? Where was god when Bea lost everything after her mother died?”_

_“Please, stop.”_

_“Where was god when you were locked in that damn pantry?!”_

_“Shut up! Stop! All of that stuff is over now! It’s done! I have a good life now! I’m happy! Why can’t you just leave me alone?!”_

_“I can’t leave you alone because I’m you. I’m here as a reminder, a reminder of how many times you were so close to losing it all. Who’s to say that something else won’t come along and take everything away from you? That man didn’t even know you, yet he almost took away the only family you had left.”_

_“But he didn’t! Gregg’s still here!”_

_“He almost wasn’t here.”_

_“All right, now we’re just going around in circles! I’m done! I am going to sit here with my husband, and I am going to enjoy our first night out of that damn hospital with him!”_

Gregg exited the shower and got dressed. He decided to forego his leather jacket today, only putting on a shirt and pants before joining Angus on the couch. He leaned up against Angus, letting him wrap his arm around him. They began watching tv together until they both began to doze off to sleep.

After the third time almost falling asleep on the couch, Angus decided it was time to go to bed.

“Come on, bug. Let’s go to bed.”

“Okay.” Gregg got up and yawned. Angus thought he was so cute when he yawned. Then again, Angus thought most things Gregg did were cute.

Angus followed Gregg into the bedroom. When they went to lie down, Angus placed his arms around Gregg. Gregg welcomed being held by Angus in bed. With the comfort of Angus’ embrace guiding him, Gregg fell asleep almost immediately.

It took Angus a moment to realize Gregg had already fallen asleep. For a little while, he sat there, watching him sleep. He was so peaceful. Angus rubbed one of Gregg’s ears with his thumb. For some reason, that always got him to smile in his sleep, and this time was no different. Angus loved that smile. It was as if his entire world revolved around it.

It didn’t take long after that for Angus to fall asleep as well. Then, he woke up in a pitch-black room. It seemed like there was no light, but when he looked at himself, he had no trouble making himself out like there was a spotlight shining on him. It was just him in a sea of black.

Angus began to walk. He walked for what seemed like hours.

_“What is this place? Where am I?”_

He couldn’t think of a possible answer. His mind was incredibly hazy for some reason. Finally, after much walking with no sign of anything but himself in this place, he saw a figure lying on the ground.

Angus started to walk faster.

_“What is that? Is that a person?”_

Angus tried to call to it, but his voice wouldn’t work. No matter what he did, nothing came out, so he just kept walking. Eventually, he could better make out the colors of the thing on the ground. There was black, yellow, and… red.

_“Wait. Is that…”_

The red began to spread.

_“No, no, it can’t be.”_

Angus began running. As he drew closer to the figure, it became increasingly clear who it was.

_“Gregg?”_

As Angus ran, he felt his asthma kick in. He couldn’t breathe, but he kept running. He needed to reach Gregg. The red reached him, and his steps began to make small, muffled splashing sounds.

By the time he reached Gregg, he was surprised he hadn’t passed out from how hard it was to breathe. Everything hurt. He held Gregg, shaking him a bit.

_“Please wake up. Please wake up. Don’t do this to me, please.”_

Angus tried to call for help, but his voice once again produced nothing. He screamed. Nothing came out. His hands were covered in red. His clothes were covered in red. Gregg was covered in red.

Angus held him as tightly as he could manage. He cried, but sound still refused to come out. He was powerless to do anything. Looking up from Gregg for a moment, he saw that the sea of black he had been in was replaced by stars. It felt like the universe was mocking him. When he looked back down, Gregg was gone. Sinking to the ground, Angus wailed, but there was only silence.

Gregg was woken up by the sudden tightening of Angus’ grip on him. He could feel him shaking, sobbing.

“Why is this happening?”, Angus muttered in his sleep.

“Angus?”, said Gregg.

“He’s all I have left.”

“Angus.”, repeated Gregg, more sternly this time.

“Please don’t take him from me.”

“Angus!”

Angus was woken up by Gregg’s yell. He pulled back from Gregg and saw him looking at him with worried eyes.

“G-Gregg?”, said Angus.

“Angus, I’m here. What happened?”, asked Gregg.

“I… You, you almost… I can’t-“

Gregg pulled Angus back, hugging him as hard as he could, “Shh, I’m here. I’m here for you.”

“But y-you almost w-weren’t.”, replied Angus, still sobbing.

“Yeah… I know that. Of course, I know that. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

“No, you didn’t hurt me. I was just so scared.”

“I know. I was, too, but it’s over now.”

“What if it happens again? You’re all I have left, Gregg. You’re everything to me.”

Gregg thought for a moment. He had been thinking about something ever since the incident, and he thought that it might help Angus with what he was going through.

“Angus, I have an idea.”, said Gregg.

“What is it?”

“I think… maybe, we should get you someone else to love, maybe even more than you love me.”

_“Is he saying what I think he’s saying?”_ , wondered Angus.

“What do you mean?”, asked Angus.

“I was thinking that if you wanted, we could… get a kid. Like, we could have a child, and then, you would have someone besides me and your brother to call family.”

Angus was stunned into silence. Gregg was asking him if he wanted to be a father. He’d never thought much about it before.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to or you don’t think we’re ready. It’s just that after what happened, I was thinking about how if I waited too long, then something like this could easily come along and take away my chance to be a parent. I want to be a dad. I want to raise a child, and personally, I think we’re ready. So, how about it?”

It only took a second for Angus to answer, “Yes. Let’s do it.”

“Really?”

Angus nodded.

Gregg laughed and cried tears of joy. He was so happy that Angus had accepted.

Angus knew that he wanted this. He was going to make sure that their kid would have the childhood he never had. He would make sure they never had to suffer like he did.

“Okay, do you think you’ll be able to sleep well now?”, asked Gregg after he had calmed down.

“Yeah, I think I’m okay now.”

“All right, good night then, cap’n.”

“Good night, bug.”

Angus dozed off to sleep, and he began dreaming again, but this time, it was different. This time, instead of a black void, he was in a field. It was nighttime, and above him was a vast sea of stars. On his left side, there was Gregg, and on his right, there was a small child. The child wasn’t very detailed, but Angus could still feel his love for them. The universe seemed beautiful instead of empty and uncaring. There he was with his family, enjoying one of his favorite pastimes.

He was really going to do it. Angus was going to start a family with Gregg. That, however, is a story for another time…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, sequel bait! This was really fun to write for me, and I couldn't just leave this story behind, so I'm making another one. As you could probably guess, it's going to be about Gregg and Angus this time. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's honestly amazing how much positive feedback I've gotten. Thank you all for reading, and I'll see you when I get around to posting the sequel, which should start sometime this summer.


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